Anaktuvuk Pass test home: Arctic living; build it and live in it for less
Anaktuvuk Pass test home: Arctic living; build it and live in it for less
Courtesy Cold Climate Housing Center
As Alaskans our lives are framed by rugged climate zones, geographic dispersion, and high fuel costs. Recently, an Alaskan project comprised of students and teachers, scientists and carpenters, combined traditional wisdom and modern technology to tackle these shared challenges. Together, they demonstrated a way forward toward sustainable living and lasting economic opportunity.
Anaktuvuk Pass: Population 312. The village sits above the Arctic Circle in the Brooks Range, where January temperatures average -14 and air travel provides the only access. It is the last remaining Nunamiut settlement in Alaska. Exorbitant energy prices make life difficult, and overcrowding has resulted from high construction costs.
Enter the Sustainable Northern Shelters project. Piloted by the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) in Fairbanks, the program aims to “develop energy efficient and affordable homes that can withstand the extreme climatic conditions of Alaska while reflecting a community’s lifestyle and culture.” Working with community members and contributing organizations, they have done exactly that.
CCHRC began work in 2008 through meetings with local stakeholders and an on-site forum to ensure community involvement with the project’s design and implementation. Through summer and winter the project progressed with laboratory research and testing in Fairbanks, a special course through Ilisagvic College in Barrow for residents wanting to build Northern homes, and continued input from villagers in Anaktuvuk Pass. Then, in June 2009, with preparations complete and the daylight long, a large and diverse team gathered at the project site and successfully constructed a groundbreaking new model for Arctic living.
The building is simple and smart. It is positioned to maximize natural light and to minimize the freezing effects of Arctic winds. Features include a semi-subterranean design, the use of sod for roofing, and a traditional qingok (passive venting system). It makes use of lightweight steel frames with an interior plywood skin to keep structural weight (and therefore costs) low, and combines a modern soy-based spray foam with an elastomer liner to maximize insulating efficiency. The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) installed six solar panels and a small amp-air turbine to tap into locally available renewable resources. The house also uses a water conservation system to maximize usage and minimize waste.
Too good to be true? The proof is in the numbers. It was the village’s first new home in ten years, and took only three weeks to build. Regional new home prices average $1.2 million according the North Slope Housing Bureau, the Anaktuvuk Pass prototype was finished under its $150,000 budget. Normal houses in the area use 1500 gallons of heating fuel per year. With its localized solar generator and wind turbine, the experts estimate the prototype’s annual energy consumption at a lowly 110 gallons.
And thanks to high-tech assessment devices, the numbers keep rolling in. According to Martin Leonard III, Renewable Energy Expert at YRITWC, the prototype is “the most wired home in the arctic.” Data sets and projections are crucial components of the project, yielding valuable information for the energy and construction fields at any latitude.
In that sense the completed test home is just the beginning. Perhaps its greatest value lies as a model to be replicated around Alaska and beyond, with existing plans to construct similar homes in Point Lay, Nuiquit, and other Alaskan communities. In the view of CCHRC President Jack Hebert, “If you can build a sustainable community in Anaktuvuk, you can build a sustainable community anywhere in the world.” Alaska is demonstrating excellence in the fields of energy efficiency and emerging energy technology, and with continued effort can remain at the forefront to become a leader the world over.
