Daniels Professor Mason White and his colleagues at Lateral Office / InfraNet Lab have received the gold prize at the 2011 Holcim Awards for their Arctic Food Network (AFN) project.

This socio-architectural project to create an Arctic Food Network in Nunavut provides a model to overcome the dependence of the Inuit community on expensive processed food products imported from the south. The project intends to secure mobility between the scattered Inuit communities, allow a better distribution of local foods and serve as a series of bases for the reinforcement of traditional hunting – while also establishing new foundations for a sustainable, more independent economy.

"The jury praised the project for bringing an overlooked issue to the table, and providing a stunning solution with an impressive value-added return on the resources invested," reads the Holcim Awards website. "An attentive contextual response is demonstrated in all dimensions of the project, based upon thorough research and the participation of the community."

For more information, please visit the Holcim Awards website.