After several housing booms, building contractors across the state discovered that construction techniques and standards from the Lower 48 were not meant for circumpolar regions (where temperatures can drop to minus 70 degrees). Windows fogged, moisture froze in the walls, and in the springtime, walls would literally weep.
Mold was accompanied by rot and its structural implications, while the indoor air quality was unacceptably poor. Because energy was also used inefficiently, utility bills were through the roof.
In response, members of the Alaska State Home Builders Association decided the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) was needed. Founded in 1999 by Jack Hébert, CEO, the non-profit corporation based in Fairbanks focuses on finding cost-effective, healthy housing methods with three programs:
- Building/science/research to test ventilation, energy systems and geophysical technologies.
- Architects and designers work closely with rural housing authorities for climate appropriate housing.
- Policy research to look at the economics and how the state can save money.
"Quality in Alaska [structures] has improved exponentially due to demonstrating new techniques and advancing new techniques," said Hébert. "We make progress as we study and understand it. The real challenge, which continues to be a challenge, is affordability. How can we design and build what the market can afford?"
Begin with the bid
One of the biggest obstacles to healthy, sustainable shelter is obtaining materials with which to build. What costs $10 million to construct in Anchorage might be $18 million in a village, because material must either be flown in or brought by barge.
"Most jobs in remote areas are competitively bid, so we first have to look at access—how to get to the job, both in terms of people and the day-to-day needs. This means routing and cost to move material, how often the barge service runs, cost per pound, etc.," said Clayton Arterburn, general manager of UIC Construction LLC. "The basics aren't going to happen if these details aren't figured out ahead of time."
UIC Construction, established in 1978, specializes in remote construction in Arctic and subarctic Alaska. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ukpea?vik Iñupiat Corporation, a Native-owned, Barrow-based company that employs almost 2,000 individuals in Alaska and beyond.
Before any project bid, the company asks several pertinent questions:
How will the foundation be installed? Are soil aggregates needed? What resources, material and equipment are available in the area? Are there houses to rent, or does a temporary camp need to be brought in for workers? Is the existing workforce strong, or will additional training be required? UIC Construction prides itself on hiring locals, with as much as 70 percent of any workforce stemming from the project area. "We try to leave as many dollars as we can in the village," said Arterburn.
The distance directly affects the time a project can start, as it may take several months to move material to a remote worksite. Once a project is in process, however, the change in seasons and weather generally does not bring construction to a halt.
"We had to put a roof on in Barrow in winter," Arterburn said, offering an example. "It was difficult, and there were cost implications (because it's cheaper in summer), but the roof had to go on in the middle of winter, so that's when it had to go on."
Think inside the log
Venetie, a Gwich'in village in the Yukon Flats School District, needed a new teacher housing complex.
Partnering with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and the local tribal council, the CCHRC's priority was to employ local labor and local materials. The center also took a community-minded approach to design by incorporating cultural elements from the log-cabin village and its historic past.
An all-local crew, trained to use a sawmill owned by the tribe, harvested timber from the surrounding spruce forest on the bank of the Chandalar River. Because logs can require several years to season, residents harvested the standing dead which are drier than live trees. Space was provided to allow logs to further dry and settle.
For insulation, the CCHRC recommended spray foam. Spray foam is actually one of the more expensive options, but because it travels in liquid form, and expands to 30 times its original size when used, the center determined this material had the greatest insulation value per mass.
Teachers moved into the new four-plex in November 2014. Staff monitored the walls' moisture content along with overall fuel usage. Results so far show the complex has reduced fuel use by 90 percent, according to the CCHRC.
Venetie is just one of dozens of ongoing projects the CCHRC has statewide, all with the goal of finding healthy, durable and sustainable cold-climate shelter. As its founder Hébert says, "Learning is a process—one that is never finished."
Stephanie Prokop is a freelance journalist specializing in business and technology. Part-time traveler, full-time bookworm, she resides in Anchorage with her husband.
This article appeared in the Winter 2015 issue of 61°North. Contact 61° editor Jamie Gonzales at jgonzales@alaskadispatch.com.