Nunavut Project
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Linking the North
It is a land where harsh conditions dictate the way of life. The
challenges of living and working in Nunavut are abundant, especially
in a territory where everything has to be shipped or flown in, where
there are only 20 kilometres of highway and temperatures of -30 C
in January.
Despite these circumstances, Public Works and Government Services
Canada (PWGSC) has developed a real love of the North. Many branches
of PWGSC have worked collaboratively to put this new territory on
the map.
Qimugjuk Building
In October 1998, PWGSC began working to integrate both office space
and information technology in Iqaluit's Qimugjuk building. The building,
whose namesake means snowdrift, is the newest addition to Nunavut's
landscape. The $8-million structure accommodates 125 employees from
12 federal departments. The two-storey, 2,500 m2 building responds
to the Government's office requirements while incorporating elements
of the Inuit culture. The lobby showcases Inuit works of art and
its facade is designed to reflect the shape of an igloo. Natural
materials, including locally quarried granite, were used in the
building's construction.
The Qimugjuk building is a pilot project where PWGSC has successfully
offered an integrated Information Management/Information Technology
(IM/IT) space solution to 16 client departments. Twelve of these
are in the Qimugjuk facility and four are in other space within
Iqaluit.
Shared Spaces 
Features include shared common building wiring and a shared telephone
system including long distance calling. A shared Virtual Local Area
Network was made available for use by resident departments. A shared
information technology infrastructure is in place to connect the
client departments in the south to the desktops in the north. The
local infrastructure is connected to dedicated satellite facilities
to the south. This supports data and video traffic not only for
those in the building but for government organizations outside the
building in Iqaluit including the Territorial Government of Nunavut.
A space sharing arrangement among the dozen departments housed
in the Qimugjuk building achieves efficient use of space. The integration
includes an extensive program of shared spaces, equipment, services
and resources.
Collaboration
The success of the building is largely due to the high level of
collaboration with clients. The efficient and practical space use
is largely to the credit of the Client Working Group, which is a
group of client representatives lead by PWGSC. PWGSC, in consultation
with locally based engineers and architects, collaborated with its
client departments throughout the planning, design, construction
and fit-up stages. The group met regularly over three years to make
decisions about how to most efficiently use the limited space in
the building. This collaborative approach ensured a solution based
on best value to government. As a result, a facility that blended
with the culture and the community and respected Nunavut's economic
and cultural objectives was built.
The Qimugjuk building has achieved many firsts. The space and resource
sharing arrangement, the common infrastructure and the partnerships
forged among government and local groups and are all precedent setting.
With these distinctions, PWGSC is helping Nunavut leave its mark
on the map.
For more information, please contact the manager of our Client
Service Unit for Nunavut, Alex Taylor at (867) 976-4646.
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