In Nunavut, a place of unique indigenous values, identity, and culture coexist with newly designed environments that reflect a vision for a Canadian North that demands that architects and planners rethink how buildings and infrastructure should operate. Architect and co-curator of Arctic Adaptations Lola Sheppard and distinguished planner William Trousdale will discuss some of the professional, technical and cultural issues of building and capacity building in Nunavut and other First Nations communities. The evening’s moderator will be architect Patrick Stewart MRAIC, a member of the Nisga’a First Nation.
Lola Sheppard’s research exists at the intersection of architecture, landscape and urbanism. It privileges architecture as a mutable territory that is formed out of and responsive to its history and environment. The work posits that the role of the architect is not simply problem solver or designer, but cultural, environmental and spatial detective, bringing to light the forces at work within a site-specific climate and geography, and able to look design opportunities. Much of her recent work and teaching has focused on the role of architecture, infrastructure and the public realm in the unique and challenging context of Arctic Canada. Lola Sheppard founded Lateral Office in 2003 with Mason White. She is also a co editor of the journal [Bracket] which looks at the intersection of architecture, environment and digital culture. Lateral Office received the Emerging Voices award from the Architecture League of New York in 2011 and the 2010 Professional Prix de Rome award from the Canada Council for the Arts. Lola is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo.
William Trousdale is a globally recognized and awarding-winning planner, economist, decision analyst and tourism expert. He is a certified professional planner in the United States and Canada. His work has also been given national recognition (two national awards for planning excellence from the Canadian Institute of planners) international recognition (three projects selected for the United Nations Best Practices Data Base) and earned fellowships from the Ford Foundation and CIDA’s Centre of Excellence. Currently, he is working with aboriginal communities in Canada, international NGOs and agencies, local governments, research institutes, and the private sector. He has worked on over 100 assignments in countries across the Americas, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Much of his work has been published in academic journals.
Dr. Patrick Reid Stewart is a member of the Killerwhale House of Daaxan of the Nisga’a Nation. His Nisga’a name is Luugigyoo of the Village of Gingolx. Patrick was the first architect of First Nations ancestry in BC to own and operate an architectural firm in BC. Patrick`s dissertation, Indigenous Architecture Through Indigenous Knowledge: Dim Sagalts`apkw Nisim was featured by the National Post, Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, Calgary Herald, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Regina Leader Post, Time magazine, USA Today, gawker.com, MSN, New York Times and the Paris Review. He has two chapters from his dissertation accepted for publication in the forthcoming book, Contemporary Indigenous Architecture: Local Traditions, Global Winds from the University of New Mexico Press. His architectural work is included in the book, New Architecture on Indigenous Lands and in the award-winning architectural film documentary, Aboriginal Architecture: Living Architecture. He participated in the award-winning film documentary, Something to Eat, a Place to Sleep and Someone Who Gives a Damn, a film on homelessness. Patrick is current Chair of the Provincial Aboriginal Homelessness Committee and past Chair (for 9 years) of the Aboriginal Homelessness Steering Committee for Metro Vancouver.
For more information, please visit http://www.museumofvancouver.ca/programs/calendar