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The development of housing that can fluctuate to meet the needs of a constantly shifting population will aid in the overall success of the Alaskan economy.

In Alaska, the significant variation in both climate and population make standard architectural applications impractical. The large variation in population between the summer and winter months has created a need for housing types that can hibernate seasonally to reduce the amount of necessary energy and maintenance. Not only would this produce a more suitable and environmentally conscious method of housing the seasonal population, but also increase the possibility of permanent residence.

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The development of housing that can fluctuate to meet the needs of a constantly shifting population will aid in the overall success of the Alaskan economy.

In Alaska, the significant variation in both climate and population make standard architectural applications impractical. The large variation in population between the summer and winter months has created a need for housing types that can hibernate seasonally to reduce the amount of necessary energy and maintenance. Not only would this produce a more suitable and environmentally conscious method of housing the seasonal population, but also increase the possibility of permanent residence.

Housing types in Alaska are diverse in both character and location. They range from large scale housing projects, to individual homes, to developments in unlikely terrain. The Alaskan people are creative in both building techniques and locations in small scale operation, but lack these types of applications when moving into larger developments. The efficiency of large-scale housing developments for seasonal use is currently underutilized mostly because of the unfavorable living conditions they provide. Larger scale developments are not only more efficient in extreme climates, but would also be
much easier to maintain on a seasonal basis.

The climate in Alaska is unique in many ways that change the desired building standard. The climate is extreme, without question, with as much as 22 feet of snow in the winter and below freezing temperatures for months on end. However, other conditions exist that are potentially beneficial to an architectural design, such as extended hours of daylight in the summer months and unusually shallow bedrock in many regions. These conditions are currently not utilized because of the deviation from more traditional building standards in the lower states. The employment of these defining characteristics will not only help with the efficiency of a building, but could also work to reestablish the vernacular architecture of the Alaskan people and even potentially form a modern style unique to the region.
These graphs show the variation in climate throughout the state in the most extreme conditions (January and July) and the annual amount of daylight hours. The daylight hour chart compares the hours of Alaska with other states. The climatic chart demonstrates the temperature variation even within the state of Alaska.

The use patterns of the city of Juneau are clearly defined into residential and commercial sectors. These have formed organically around the main infrastructural elements including the shipping ways and the main highway. The limitations of city sprawl can be see in the map above by the amount of unoccupied land. The chart below maps the annual population fluctuation of the area. In the summer months, one can see that employment increases dramatically.

The circulation patterns in Juneau stems from the major interstate highway that is one of the only means of access to the city. From this highway smaller roads stem, but rarely stray far from the major road. The highway runs along the inlet shore allowing it to be used for the transportation or good and supplies for the harbor, one of the main sources of income for Juneau. The other major means of access to the city is through the shipping lines. These are used both for recreational tourism and industry, making them vital to the city’s success.