The Breathtaking Simple Beauty of Iqaluit Municipal Cemetery

Credit: Lees & Associates

Glittering snow. Skies of piercing blue. Vistas of frozen tundra. A breathtaking cemetery rising above the fragile permafrost.

While it may not be what you expected, this is what you’ll see at the Iqaluit Municipal Cemetery in the Nunavut region of Northern Canada. It’s a place that celebrates the people, past and present, as well as the landscape. It’s an Arctic oasis for the living and the dead.

Photo: Lees & Associates

This sacred space was designed after two years of collaboration between Inuit elders, municipal leaders, engineers, landscape architects and community residents.

Erik Lees is credited as the lead designer of the Iqaluit Municipal Cemetery. He is one of the principals at Lees & Associates, a firm that specializes in designing outdoor spaces like cemeteries and parks with the goal of connecting “people with meaningful landscapes.” The cemetery was awarded the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects’ National Award of Excellence in 2017. In 2018, it received an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in the General Design Category.

What makes this cemetery such a stellar example of architecture and landscape?

The beauty of the cemetery is in its simplicity and the use of indigenous materials.

Photo: Canadian Society of Landscape Architects

Paths bordered with weathered boulders, still visible even under snow, beckon visitors to walk down strong geometric lines. Memorial walls made of rust-colored steel panels change colors as they weather, reminiscent of the wavering hues of the Northern lights and the arctic willow. An open ceremonial gathering space ends at a massive, natural archway made of bowhead whale bones that frame the sea lying just beyond. Looking through that arch onto the sea and the sun is symbolic of looking into the afterlife.

Photo: Canadian Society of Landscape Architects

“The power of the place is extraordinary, and the decision to keep it simple and subdued is brilliant. The place honors the community’s ancestors. There are certain times when you’re working with a landscape that’s so beautiful, the best thing to do is as little as possible,” stated the 2018 ASLA Awards Jury.

Leonardo Di Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” He was right. The natural simplicity of the Iqaluit Municipal Cemetery is sophisticated, dramatic, and memorable. An Arctic oasis, indeed.

Photo: Lees & Associates