Indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal (Of the spirit, 1977) contrasts the concept of school with that of resource center, which is closer to Indigenous values and expectations. Thus, the school as a resource center is a place where, in addition to transmitting knowledge and facts, the community participates in the creation of knowledge that supports cultural vitality.  This community involvement encourages the transmission of local cultural values to younger generations and ensures the continuation of an oral and spiritual narrative. The school as an educational resource center is a living organism, integrated into its community and open to the world that surrounds it. Learning takes place in a “total space”, where the classroom serves only specific learning purposes.

In Nunavik, the learning of Inuit values and culture is based on three elements: first, the land remains the true master for learning Inuit culture; second, community participationis essential to education, and third, learning is done through practice, observation and experience of place. How then can architecture support the transmission of culture between generations, and participate in this experiential learning so that the school becomes a living organism in its community? Pirurvik proposes an elementary school as a resource center for Inuit culture in Kangiqsualujjuaq.