Removed from $20 million 'project;, Robert Billard declares 'everyone deserves more than thi

The architect who designed major renovations for Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit says the project "may be edited down to its bare bones" due to fears of cost overruns.

The renovations, expected to cost more than $20 million, are planned to begin this year, although the Government of Nunavut has still not explained what will happen to high school students while renovations are underway.

An early plan was floated during the autumn to send high school students to the middle school, with some students attending classes extra-early in the morning, and others staying late into the afternoon.

But when this plan became public, the complains of angry parents led the government and Iqaluit District Education Authority to quickly drop the scheme. No information on the renovation plans has been disclosed by the government since then.

But a lengthy letter written to Nunatsiaq News by the architect who designed the renovations, and who has since been removed from the project as a result of arguments between him and the project coordinator, may shed light on the matter.

Robert Billard, the architect, says the government's new plan involves keeping much of the building's existing exterior, scrapping plans for a flashy, kayak-shaped skylight over the main atrium, and abandoning plans for heated floors.

Billard decries these changes as being bound to "have a negative impact on the design aesthetically, scholastically, mentally and financially."

But the changes may allow the renovations to take place with kids continuing to attend classes inside the building – a feat that would be far more difficult while big holes are being punched into the walls, roof and ceiling.

The design would presumably still add more windows to the existing structure, which currently looks a lot like a submarine, with only the occasional porthole offering natural light. Wider hallways are another promised feature.

Some parents may be forgiven for wondering why the government plans to spend more than $20 million to tear down an existing school, only to replace it with a new building that is the same size.

The answer offered by the architect is that the new design makes better use of space, and, by using the existing foundation and steel frame, remaining money in the budget can be used to build perks such as a proposed theatre, capable of holding 250 people, with modern sound and light equipment.

As well, there aren't enough kids to warrant building a bigger school, according to Nunavut government rules that govern infrastructure upgrades.

Billard's original design calls for a new, stainless-steel exterior. He warns the old fibreglas panels on the school's outside walls "may fail at any point," and will likely require heavy maintenance in future years.

He also claims the heating and ventilation systems now being considered for the school will be "less efficient, noisier and dustier" than those in his design, "for little capital cost savings."

And without the fancy skylight, students in the main foyer and several other rooms will be subject to artificial lighting, he bemoans, even though "daylight is a crucial aspect of a healthy learning and working environment."

The frustration currently being felt by parents who wonder where their children will attend school next year could have been avoided, Billard writes, had the government decided to share its plans more openly with the community.

He says the public would probably have a better school as a result, too.

"I am sure that if the community of Iqaluit had been included in the design process and if I had been able to present the design, we could have all looked forward to much more than what I fear you are being given now," he wrote.

Since being taken off the project, Billard is no longer employed by the firm Bunting Coady Architects, which was awarded the contract.

He laments that the school may be reduced to "lowest common denominator architecture," and says, "everyone deserves more than this, especially the future generations."