Sustainable Arctic construction: challenges inspire creativity: re-purposing a reindeer facility into a new necropsy lab in Nome.

AuthorSeely, Nichelle
PositionSPECIAL SECTION: Architects & Engineers - Column

I'm crouched under a building, trying to sketch the location of water and wastewater lines as the winds rattles the paper in my hands and snow skitters around me. Using a pencil is clumsy with gloves, but the day is too cold not to wear them. A few yards away the waves in Norton Sound pound on the seawall--the beach is completely submerged beneath the storm surge.

I'm in Nome, on the Northwest extension campus for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where we are preparing to turn the tiny outdated science building into a cutting-edge necropsy lab, where classes of future scientists can be taught in the same space that necessary research will be carried out by the University staff and government scientists.

A Need, an Idea, and Money

The project began, as it always does, with a need, an idea, and a grant of money. As we all know, federal funding is tight, but the grant writers of UAF rise to the challenge. As usual, there's strings attached to the capital: we can't expand the footprint of the existing building, we can't tear it down and build a new one, we can only modify what's already here.

What's here is a one-story weather-beaten structure measuring twenty-five by forty feet--it looks like a little house. The building sits on a post-and-pad foundation, with individual "feet" that rest directly on the gravel. The northwest corner is visibly sunken. The paint is worn, and the mechanical hoods are rusted out.

This petite edifice is one of a collection of small buildings that make up the UAF Northwest Campus. BDS Architects and our consulting engineers have been gradually helping the University in fixing them up as time and money become available. Most recently, we've converted the library into a distance learning and testing center. Before that, we put new roofs on three of the buildings, and before that, new foundations. We've connected all the buildings with a boardwalk and made interior improvements. The piecemeal upgrades are gradually changing the face of the campus, making it more relevant, high-tech, and better able to serve the needs of the users. This latest project is the most challenging one yet.

Historically, the building we are about to remodel has been used to teach anatomy and reindeer husbandry. Inside, there's a hodgepodge of equipment and shelving, anatomical charts, and even a teaching skeleton. The finishes are worn and need replaced--unfortunately, there's always the question of hazardous material, asbestos, and lead...

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