This 5000 square foot visitor reception centre is located in Old Crow, Yukon at 67 degrees north latitude well above the Arctic Circle. The Vuntut Gwitchin community of 250 people is accessible only by air. Constructed using SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) to minimize onsite labor costs and material waste, all building materials had to fit through the 1 metre wide door of a Hawker Siddley turbo-prop aircraft.

Although not sustainable year-round in terms of power, the 45 wall-mounted photo-voltaic panels generate excess power in the summer when the community is endowed with sunlight 24 hours a day. This excess power helps offset diesel generated electricity. The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation sells excess power back to the utility – the first grid-tied building in the Yukon to do so.

This project earned a 2011 AIBC Lieutenant-Governor’s Special Jury Award for Ingenuity Award of Merit.