Alaskan House

Abstract

Intro & Lit. Review

Research & Investigation

Weather:

We based our regional research on the city of Fairbanks, which is in the interior region of Alaska. The interior region has frigid winters and short but mild summers. The main vegetation in this area is called Taiga which is a coniferous forest. The cold air temperatures in the interior region are usually the ones that set records. Especially when there is a cold blast from Siberia and the North Pole. Fairbanks has reached a low temperature of -62 degrees Fahrenheit. The average temperature low in the winter for Fairbanks is around -22 degrees Fahrenheit.  Average precipitation in the interior region during the winter is around 0.6in. Snow is not a huge factor that plays into our structure, but the cold is.

Fig. 1: This table shows the average annual precipitation in Fairbanks Alaska

FEMA’s Response to earthquake in Alaska in November 2018:

Took FEMA 10 days to respond to earthquake in Liaison Alaska back in November of 2018. The earthquake rated a 7 on the Richter Scale. FEMA replaced all things broken with proper documentation. FEMA 10 Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) deployed to the affected areas to support state, tribal, and local request for assistance.

Types of Houses in Alaska:

In order to figure out which design works best for the situation, research had to be conducted on the type of houses that are already in the area. That way the design could be developed to accommodate life in the area. There are multiple designs of houses in Alaska, as in any other state. Below are 3 designs that are common throughout the state of Alaska.

Fig. 2: This is a typical house found in Alaska, built with common house materials. This house influenced our design by utilizing 2x4’s for the strength.

Fig. 3: This is a yurt. These houses are built with a woven wood skeletal system and canvas. This structure helped influence the design with the shape. The circle structure is resistant to wind and earthquakes.

Fig. 4: This is a typical log cabin found in Alaska. This structure helped the design by supplying an idea for alternate designs.

Design:

The design we decided on was a small structure that needs to be 15ftx20ftx10ft. These dimensions would easily accommodate 5 people. The structure would be around 300 sqft. 300 sqft is a small structure that has the potential to be easy and quick to build, also be easy to maintain a certain temperature inside. There would be fewer materials needed to build the structure, therefore materials could be used sparingly throughout other projects. The best shape of the structure would be either round or an octagon shape to help be more aerodynamic, sturdy, quick construction. A round or octagon shape is more efficient, wind and earthquake resistant. They use 15-20% less materials than most traditional structures. The structure will utilize a lot of reclaimed materials from affected houses in the area. Materials that will be recycled are insulation, siding, wood, doors, wood stoves and piping, tarps and canvases. The insulation that will be used in the structure will be regular house insulation which is R13 that is usually in the walls and R-19 which is in the ceilings. Our design is utilizing wood burning stoves. By using these, the structure will be heated to 65 degrees Fahrenheit and allow residents to cook. The majority of houses built in Alaska utilize wood stoves. Typical outside air units in Alaska freeze over and are rendered useless. There will be a ventilation window at the top of the structure to allow air to move in and out of the structure to combat stagnant air.  

ALT. Design:

Fig. 5: Tiny House

Fig. 6: Round Structure

SSAA

· 2x4 ceilings and walls to save on materials

· Insulation on walls

· Build foundation into ground or just built on top of ground.

· Scavenge materials from surrounding buildings that has been destroyed by earthquake and from local hardware stores and nature.

· Main ventilation at top of structure, stove pipe will exit structure through ventilation area. Need triple insulated stove pipe where pipe comes in contact with materials.

· Food Storage underneath structure floorXXX

· Using 2x4’s and other scavenged items will help cut down build time compared to cutting down trees, it is also more environmentally friendly.

· Need screen around ventilation area to keep animals out.

· Food storage

NNNS

Conclusion & References

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