the existing school. It contains 10 new classrooms, a new main entry, and best of all (as far as the village is concerned), a brand new full-size gymnasium.
A Building’s Destiny
It might be hard to imagine for someone who has never visited rural Alaska, but this building is destined to be the life and center of the village of Chefornak. It’s the biggest structure by far in this little town of 418 people. The long-anticipated gymnasium will be much more than a sports arena (although that’s a big deal in a community where basketball is king and almost everyone plays or cheers on the sidelines). Weddings, funerals, and cultural events will be hosted here, the one location where the whole town can be contained. There’s a pull-down screen for movies, and a retractable stage for shows. The building is as flexible and accommodating as BDS could make it, just like the people who call the far reaches of Alaska their permanent home.
Remote Construction
Construction isn’t easy in the sprawling, roadless portions of the state. Chefornak has a tiny airport with a gravel strip and
A variety of equipment is used to maneuver around the community and building site.
a barge landing barely large enough for a single vessel. Crowded around the building site are stacks and rows of shipping containers, some almost covered in drifting snow. The construction camp is a set of modified connexes stacked like Legos, with enough beds to house 32 workers, a kitchen and dining hall, and shower and laundry facilities. There’s even a common room with a pool table, and a business office where Walt Parrish, site superintendent, spends a lot of his time. “It’s been a real rough winter,” he acknowledges. “Weather’s been brutal,
and our supply line gets tied up when the planes can’t fly in. It’s been a good project, and we like the community. But I’ll still be glad when spring comes!” I slither down a snowdrift and slide under the building, remembering when I could almost stand upright among the piles that support the classroom wing. Now, I’m crouched on my knees on the snow. There’s still plenty of scour, however—room for the wind to blow underneath and mitigate the drifting. The designers at BDS know that these oversize structures mean giant drifts in the
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www.akbizmag.com • Alaska Business Monthly • June 2012
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