Developing a Nordic Architectural Sustainability Index Incorporating Inuit Perceptions, Vernacular and Biomimetic Architecture Principles

Nunavik Inuit communities seek a sustainable production system of their built environment that would respond to their human, technological, technical, economic, and ecological needs according to their aspirations. Hence, Biomimicry, which aims at innovation and Sustainability by emulating nature’s proven models and strategies, seems promising since it introduces a philosophy of the relationship between humans and nature that evokes the Inuit one. However, like other approaches, Biomimicry needs work on implementing Sustainability, particularly in architecture, which leads to seeking reasons for those malfunctions and potential remedies. A literature review was conducted to circumscribe the notion of Sustainability to better understand its relationship to Biomimicry and investigate its significance and implementation into architectural design processes. It revealed two principal aspects: first, the essential role of communities’ involvement in the definition of Sustainability, its implementation and monitoring tools; and second, the vernacular architecture embodies sustainability models that can provide valuable guidance for architectural Biomimicry, particularly in their feasibility, due to the process of integrating learnings from experiences to improve and adapt their architecture over time. The paper exposes these findings and suggests the creation of a Nordic Architectural Sustainability Index for assessing sustainable northern architecture in Nunavik. This index will trigger the reflexive process by analyzing actual biomimetic and vernacular Inuit architecture cases, integrating the contemporary views of stakeholders, including the Inuit community, on architectural Sustainability.