a unique structural system: The church would have a reinforced concrete basement, built on a gently bowl-shaped concrete slab which itself would have a gravel bed between it and the permafrost as insulation, to prevent heat from the building from melting the permafrost. Despite Larocque's lack of training, "he knows more about architecture than many architects," Adam said. Larocque had sketched out his plans on two pieces of plywood, which are part of the church's structure today, visible on the stairs to the cupola. To clear the building for construction and get a building permit, formal blueprints had to be sent to officials with the federal government in Ottawa. Larocque drew some up and sent them, only to have the officials send them back when they were unable to comprehend them. Work finally began during summer 1958. Gravel for the foundation was quarried at Point Separation, the head of the Mackenzie delta, south of the growing townsite still known only as East 3, and shipped downriver by barge to the construction site. After it was laid into the freshly excavated pit, concrete was poured over it and shaped into the bowl. Once this had set, lumber that had been similarly floated down the Mackenzie from Fort Smith near the territorial border with Alberta, the exterior walls were built on it and by the end of the area's short summer they and the first floor had been completed. Larocque spent the long winter in a nearby workshop, carefully supervising the assembly of the arches that were to form the domed roof. The 12 main arches were supplemented by 24 secondary ones and 72 smaller arches. His work also aroused some interest from Ottawa since the blueprints had failed to earn a permit, and more generally because he was not a registered architect. When they heard construction had begun nonetheless, they tried to have the work stopped. Bishop Paul Piché hired an engineering consultant to visit the building, who told him it was sturdy enough to last another 200 years. In spring 1959 work on the structure continued, with many of the new town's residents volunteering their labour. The arches built over the winter were lifted into place and the exterior completed. On the inside, following the Oblate Order's reputation for making use of scrap material to minimize costs on construction projects, the shafts of used hockey sticks were used to floor