Cultural Lifeboats: Distribution Network Facilities for Barrow, Alaska

Abstract

Coastal Communities throughout the world are suffering from the effects of rising sea levels due to climate change and/or melting polar and glacier ice. This thesis focuses on an arctic community called Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska that is experiencing coastal erosion due to diminishing sea ice and rising sea levels. Because the communities proximity to the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean, the community makes heavy use of the resources the sea offers for survival. Barrow has served as a prominent settlement for the Inupiat for thousands of years, but it now faces many obstacles as sea levels continue to rise. The proposed thesis design of partially prefabricated community survival installations provides insight on technology and systems that are available locally and by ship or air. Two prefabricated design methods integrated with high performance technology systems are proposed as a possible survival model for the community. During day-to-day use the facilities are programmed to provide daily resources for the community.