Northern & Remote

In the last 30 years, KNH Sawatzky & Associates has built a solid reputation through successful projects that meet the unique needs of our clients in Northern and remote areas from Iqaluit, Nunavut through to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. KNH excels at meeting the unique challenges that constructing buildings in the north present.

We understand the great importance of designing buildings to maximize local labour and sub-trade opportunities. This is even more important in remote areas as there are often limited construction opportunities available. We work collaboratively with all our clients to ensure their specific interests are upheld.

As prime consultants, we are involved in every step of the project from budget considerations, site selection, programming through to selecting the appropriate building systems and components. Logistics plays a huge role in getting equipment and materials to northern and remote work sites. We strive to select components that are site adaptable, light, and durable to reduce the potential for damage during shipping.

Life cycle costing is even more critical for remote projects. The costs for even routine maintenance can be significant and selecting components that have a proven track record and are reliable is very important. Installing control systems that match the local skill level is also an important consideration to keep as many jobs local as is possible. This also helps to reduce the length of unexpected shutdowns.

Benefit of Service

As a full-service prime consulting firm, we work closely with you through each phase of your project design and identify design solutions that deliver functionality and the best overall value to your project.

More information

We maximize the benefits for each northern and remote project by working collaboratively with the local community.
We think holistically and work collaboratively with the local community including local housing groups, construction teams, and local public works to maximize journeyman training hours and facilitating funding application opportunities and training initiatives in order to bring a benefit to the entire community through each project.
Build with confidence amid unique structural and logistical challenges of working in extreme conditions through our expertise and knowledge.
Logistics plays a huge role in getting equipment and materials to northern and remote work sites. We strive to select components that are light, durable, and fit into standard shipping containers to reduce shipping costs.
Increase project longevity and lower maintenance costs through practical design of building components and operating systems.
We design with functionality and budget in mind. We meet the needs of our client while lowering operational costs through energy-efficient systems and robust components that have good insulation value and life cycle value. We understand operation and maintenance budgets are tight so we are very careful to minimize O+M costs once the building is constructed. We aim to strike the best overall value in what we design.
We carefully consider culturally important aspects of building designs.
We strive to understand and implement culturally significant aspects of our designs by listening. Proper site selection is important to address culturally important areas and building orientation. Access, infrastructure, foundation, and site drainage aspects are also reviewed and considered to arrive at the best overall option for each design.