Circle of Connection is a landscape architecture graduate project that designs a year‑round public park on a three‑baseball‑field site in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, located 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. The site currently suffers from severe spring flooding due to its topographic low, prolonged polar night darkness without lighting, single‑use programming, and a rigid fenced boundary that isolates surrounding residential neighbourhoods. The project addresses three interlinked challenges : seasonal hydrologi c a l dysfunction, polar night‑induced social isolation and mental health risks, and cultural discontinuity for the predominantly Inuvialuit and Gwich’in population. Drawing on water‑sensitive urban design principles, permafrost engineering guidelines , and Indigenous play frameworks (, the design introduces six integrated strategies: a multi‑stage ecological stormwater system that transforms spring melt from a nuisance into an educational feature; year‑round functional programming including a landscape greenhouse, 24‑hour café, sunken terrace, and campfire area; permeable boundaries with radiating gravel paths to connect community nodes; DarkSky compliant interactive lighting and corten steel pathways for polar night occupancy; inclusive facilities for children, elders, and pets; and lightweight, modular, permafrost‑adaptive construction using screw piles and geofoam. The outcome converts an underutilised, seasonally inaccessible field into a resilient social infrastructure that supports hydrological management, mitigates seasonal affective disorder, reduces youth substance use and screen dependence, embeds Inuvialuit and Gwich’in cultural narratives, and serves all generations. The project offers a replicable toolkit for Arctic communities facing similar constraints of water, darkness, isolation and cultural change.
Joseph Zhou (Thu,) studied this question.