Sun and ice

Abstract

Sited in Barrow, Alaska - the northernmost city in North America - my conservatory design explores the challenges that climate and daylighting present 300 miles above the Arctic Circle. This “land of the midnight sun” experiences two and a half months of 24-hour sun in the summer, and two and a half months of 24-hour darkness in the winter. The Iñupiat Eskimos have survived in the region for hundreds of years and technology advances their communities ability to thrive and flourish. Only accessible by airplane and occasionally by boat/barge in the summer, the small town of Barrow must fly in many supplies including ‘fresh’ fruits and vegetables. The term fresh is used loosely as the produce must survive the transportation from other countries, states, or at nearest a trip from southern Alaska to be consumed. The high cost of flying in produce continues to reinforce the highly carnivorous diets of most residents. A production greenhouse is not the solution to a multi-faceted situation. Culture and social traditions must be brought together with engineering and technology to create a poetry of education and conservation. This arctic conservatory was designed to house spaces for classes on tradition plant uses, growing greenhouses, and spaces for socializing in the rejuvenating presence of plants year-round.