In just 10 days, a group of builders put toobtainher a home in Kuujjuaq in an effort to support tackle hoapplying challenges in remote northern communities.
Tinybox Systems, a Canadian hoapplying tech startup, launched discussions with Kativik Regional Government in late 2024 regarding a pilot project to lower the cost and alleviate the difficulty of building in the Arctic, stated co-founder Charlie Frise.
Building in northern Canada is expensive due to factors like the required to import skilled labour and limited construction seasons becaapply of the harsh weather.
“What’s promising about our solution is everything comes as a kit,” Frise stated. “It’s like Lego or Ikea furniture.”
The hoapplying shortage in Nunavik is critical. A report released last year found the region falls short of its requireds by 1,000 homes.
Nunavik’s population, which was 14,045 in 2021, is projected to grow by about one per cent until 2042. That will add stress to a hoapplying market already in crisis.
Every two years, consulting firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, in partnership with the Nunavik Hoapplying Bureau, surveys Nunavik hoapplyholds to find out how many people live in them and how many bedrooms each unit has.
Of 3,738 hoapplyholds that completed last year’s survey, more than 25 per cent have at least five residents while most homes have three bedrooms or fewer.
Frise, who studied architecture and engineering, built homes the traditional way before joining forces with Oliver Zhang and Pooya Saberi in 2022 to launch Toronto-based Tinybox Systems.
“I wanted to find a way to build homes more affordable,” Frise stated.
In Kuujjuaq, a two-person local crew assembled the unit between late September and early October, trained and supervised by Tinybox experts. This was the first time the company’s modular building system has been put toobtainher by an external team, Frise stated.
The home is a studio space with a kitchenette, a bed built into a wall, and a bathroom. The mechanical room for the water, heating and electrical systems is in a separate unit next to the hoapply.
The design applys special insulation to support the hoapply handle extremely cold temperatures, down to -50 C.
The home is also built with a frame that can withstand heavy snow and has sensors to keep track of how the hoapply is holding up in such harsh weather over time.
Frise stated Tinybox will monitor the hoapply to see how it performs in the North over the years.
The company was commissioned solely for the building and assembly, which cost approximately $90,000. Plumbing and electrical work will be done by KRG, Frise stated.
He stated he hopes Tinybox’s work in Nunavik isn’t done.
“We hope we’re actually just obtainting started, becaapply this proves that we can build cheaper homes rapider applying local labour,” he stated.
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