2026 ARCC-EAAE International Conference: Local Solutions for Global Issues
Atlanta GA USA / 8-11 April 2026
Bradley Walters, Mark McGlothlin, Robert J. Ries
University of Florida, Gainesville FL USA
Bradley Walters presented this work at the 2026 ARCC-EAAE International Conference: Local Solutions for Global Issues, held 8-11 April 2026 in Atlanta GA USA. The paper, titled “The Voices of a People: Homes in the Native Village of Tyonek, Alaska” was double-blind peer reviewed, and will be published in the forthcoming proceedings.
ABSTRACT: This study examines the design and construction of housing for the Tebughna people of the Native Village of Tyonek, Alaska. While there are well-documented strategies to provide basic economical housing in the United States, there is very little work that has been done to address the extreme challenges facing native villages and remote communities of Alaska. These challenges include: a limited workforce without construction skills; few local/regional construction materials after years of over-harvesting by foreign interests; high costs tied to transport of construction materials over great distances; limited access to capital in cash-poor subsistence communities; inconsistent and unreliable electrical energy systems; long, cold, and dark winters in the subarctic; short construction windows that conflict with key fishing and hunting seasons; and remote locations accessible only by small planes and boats.
The existing houses in the Native Village of Tyonek are suffering and struggling under the weight of snow and the probing rivulets of water that have gradually found their way through untended assemblies. The structures leak air and water, requiring immense amounts of energy to be only barely habitable through the long winter months. The houses of the community are in disrepair, revealing a collision between want and need, absence and excess, tradition and transformation. The situation is tenuous and dire, as the community ages and loses its youth to opportunity elsewhere.
Working within this context, explicit research questions include: How can academic research support culture and community in extreme climates? How can research help to amplify the voices of a people and their cultural practices through genuine support and service? What are appropriate architectural responses to the complex and competing demands of environmental performance, culture, and climate? How can researchers better listen to the people and their native lands, recognizing the limitations of pre-formed research questions and common academic research structures?
Over the last four years, we have worked alongside the people of Tyonek to address the critical housing needs in the village and to address these research questions. Our methodology has involved numerous community meetings and a robust, consensus-driven approach to building trust with the elders of the village. We conducted detailed surveys of existing housing, created proposals for new and renovated housing, and tested proposals by evaluating life cycle costs and energy efficiency. The work serves as a useful model for community-based work with remote native communities, especially those in cold climates.
KEYWORDS: high-performance, arctic, housing
PAPER SESSION TRACK: Historical Perspectives and Grounded Practices
For more information about the conference: https://www.arcc-arch.org/2026-arcc-eaae-international-conference-local-solutions-for-global-issues/
Image: Conference graphics.
