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Developing housing in the Mat-Su Burrough of Alaska will help stimulate the State’s economy.

Housing is imperative to both quality of life and growth. In a difficult climate such as Alaska it is important to utilize current knowledge and building techniques as well as vernacular building types to construt functional, aesthetically pleasing, and economic options for residents. In Alaska, it is especially important to address this building issue because the increased cost of living deters permanent settlement and therefore stunts the economy.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, consisting of Palmer, Wasilla, Houston, as well as various other villages, is the largest growing region in the Pacific Northwest. This is not only significant for the Borough, but also for the state of Alaska as a whole because of their previous economic and population decline. A diverse employment base has greatly contributed to the success of the region because its population is relatively consistent throughout the year. As population and employment continue to rise, however, the housing need is growing without response. Furthermore, the newly developed housing is not adequate. It does not address the extreme weather conditions, topography, and seasonal use. These are all factors that can be addressed by architecture and which could not only help sustain the current population of the region, but help stimulate further growth. It is also important to consider that a beneficial housing development may persuade resident migration towards a concentrated area helping to reduce state costs. The benefit of developing Alaskan communities is beginning to be realized, and hopefully through the means of housing development, the state can continue its growth.

This concept sketch works to illustrate the disconectivity of the State of Alaska within its own borders. The site analysis clearly demonstrates the isolation and overall lack of density experienced by the population here. The largest city in the state holds a population of just under 250 thousand people, following this there are two other cities with 30 thousand, and then a handful of cities between 5-1 thousand. The remainder of the dots are towns and villages with less than 1 thousand people. This makes the total population of the state per square mile incredibly low. It is no wonder that the people of Alaska struggle to thrive when the conditions so readily isolate each settlement. The city grouping makes it necessary to treat future developments in a very different way than normal undertakings of the same nature in the lower 48.

"The Muses are not Amused"

“The Muses are not Amused” by Jorge Silvetti is a commentary on the current direction of architecture, both taught and practiced. He is critical of the categories into which architectural process has fallen because they do not adequately produce the necessary form making to make architectural objects of consistent consequence. Although troubling in the manner it is presented, I do not think that Silvetti is entirely correct in the way he goes about reducing the essence of contemporary architecture or the conclusion he reaches as an affect. Surely Silvetti’s basis for organizing architectural types and process is valid, his examples make that clear, but is it few and far between when one group can truly classify a work. This blurs the lines and is fundamentally detrimental to the argument of defined processes. Furthermore, I do not think that attempting to reducing the creative process into such defined lines is beneficial. If anything, it just reinforces stereotypes and allows an architect or, more destructively, an architecture student to classify and justify a means of process which may or may not be beneficial to the practice of architecture. If Silvetti would indeed like to see a change in the manner with which we go about producing, would it not be more beneficial to offer more concrete alternative methods instead of reducing and classifying that which already exists? He also seems to fail to acknowledge the moments, grant it they may be few and far between, when a masterpiece does result from one of these processes. I also think it is a bit misleading of him to reprimand our current generation for its practices by comparing our works to that of historical precedent. He does not view the large majority of what we produce as even close to art, as architecture use to be, but is it not the case that some of the most significant and awe inspiring creations were not appreciated for their brilliance until long after their completion? It is not difficult to criticize the failures in modern society, there are many, but would it not be better to celebrate our successes and allow the profession to grow in a natural always exploring way instead of reverting into ideals that are tried, tested and true? Do architecture and art need to go hand in hand, or perhaps have we evolved past art into a new frontier where a building can be so much more?

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Architecture can make an uninhabitable area thrive.

Advancement in architecture, construction, and building materials has made it possible for climatically severe sites to not only survive, but thrive. If this mentality could be applied to researching alternative means of building in Alaska, then the house difficulty in the state could begin to improve. Ultimately, this could lead to the regeneration of the Alaskan economy and population.

In the rural villages of central Alaska, housing is a huge problem because of both energy consumption and maintenance issues. This has lead to a rapid decline in the state’s growth, especially over the last 25 years. This is troublesome for both the occupants who are being forced to move because of increased living costs and the nation as a whole because of all the additional Alaskan resources that are currently underutilized. Furthermore, it is troublesome that underdeveloped and poorly conceived housing projects are being produced as a means to “fix” this problem. Build effective and efficient homes in cold environments is something that is completely possible with today’s technology. It is sad that these applications have seldom been utilized in a place where their application could be so beneficial, specifically in the most rural and poorest regions of the state. The development of a prototypical house or housing complex that could employ practical passive heating and cooling strategies as well as limit the amount of necessary maintenance on a residence would greatly help stabilize the state. In large part, this will require the research of current materials and construction techniques as well as the vernacular architecture of the native population. This would lead to a contextually relevant project that would not only be sustainable and contextually relevant, but could also really help people that currently cannot help themselves.