Known as “the top of the world,” the isolated community of Barrow, Alaska, is located 340 miles north of the Arctic Circle in a snowbound arctic desert. It is also home to the AIA award-winning Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, a new 103,000-square-foot critical access hospital designed to provide a full range of premium health care services to Barrow and five outlying villages along the northern coastline. RIM Architects, based out of Anchorage, Alaska, partnered with HDR Inc., Omaha, Neb., to deliver the architectural design. Our joint mission: to create a one-of-a kind facility as a place of care, healing and wellness, while developing a shared environment that embraces and reflects the local Inupiat culture and its surroundings.
The location and polar climate played a major role in defining the character of the hospital. The materials incorporated on the interior and exterior of the facility must withstand the harsh environment, including 8-foot snowdrifts and temperature drops to
-50 F. At the same time, they must be easily maintainable and be cost-effective for shipping: Barrow does not have roads connecting it to other communities, so the barge from Anchorage or Seattle that arrives two to three times a summer provides the main mode of transportation of goods.
Due to the extreme climate, designing an efficient, flexible and easy-to-maintain exterior envelope system was first priority. A structural insulated panel (SIP) with a high insulation value was paired with combinations of closed-joint and open-joint rainscreen finish systems, allowing drainage for snow and moisture. The majority of the finish system is Reynobond aluminum composite material from Alcoa Architectural Products, Norcross, Ga. This material is not only durable and long lasting; it also protects the building from Barrow’s harsh environment. The metal panels were designed to be uniform in size for ease of installation and were economical to ship.
Together with interior design touches such as colorful hand-cut glass tile and warm lighting systems, the building envelope reflects the best of local culture and the environment, drawing from the landscape with its dynamic ice patterns, low light angles and the dancing colors of the Northern Lights. The residents of Barrow crave color due to the monochromatic landscape, blurred horizon lines and dusk-like lighting for a majority of the year. For this specific reason, the metal panels were specified in two highly saturated colors: Sunset Spectra and Brushed Aluminum. The building exterior reflects the sun (when present), and as the location and angle of the sun changes, the material changes color, creating a beautiful and dynamic effect. Rather than an institutional hospital setting, the exterior communicates that the Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital is a comforting place to heal and creates a visual landmark for the local population.
Additionally, to create the second floor arching roofline, a standing seam metal roof provided by Architectural Metal Products, Fairbanks, Alaska, was rollformed on-site. Metal roofing was chosen for its ability to combat the elements and maintain its full life cycle in this environment. The rollforming process eliminates transverse seams and provides mechanically overlapped seams, minimizing the chance of water and moisture migration, and creating a tight seal over the complete roofing assembly.
Completed in September 2013, the Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital now serves as a centralized hub for health, providing all the health services available in a large medical center scaled down for a smaller setting. The facility co-locates consolidated outpatient health services, including an emergency department, imaging, pharmacy, physical therapy, a dental department and cancer screening, with inpatient services, including an eight-bed inpatient unit and a low-risk birthing unit. Incorporating evidence-based design principles and input from the local residents, the facility provides a calm and welcoming environment for health, as well as family-focused care and a social hub that will endure over time.
Design Team
Architect of Record, Design Lead for Northern Climate Building Envelope: RIM Architects LLC: Matt Vogel, Trent Mullins, Molly Logelin, Brian Stump
Health Care Planning and Consulting: HDR Inc.: John Cameron, John White, Cyndi McCullough
Collaborators
Civil Engineer: R&M Consultants Inc.
Cost Estimator: Rider Levett Bucknell, HMS Inc.
Geotechnical Engineer: Duane Miller & Associates
Mechanical and Electrical Arctic Consultant: RSA Engineering Inc.
Structural Engineer: BBFM Engineers Inc.
Mechanical Engineer: HDR Inc.
Electrical Engineer: HDR Inc.
Interior Designer: HDR Inc.
Medical Equipment Planning: HDR Inc.
Security Systems Consultant: HDR Inc.
IT Consultant: HDR Inc.
Dental Consultant: Sjoquist Architects Inc.
Material Management Consultant: Lerch Bates
Food and Laundry Consultant: SDI
Snow Drift Consultant: Rowan Williams Davies
& Irwin Inc.
General Contractor: UICC LLC/SKW Eskimos Inc. JV
Owner’s Rep/Construction Manager: Rider Levett Bucknell
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Molly Logelin is intern architect at RIM Architects, Anchorage, Alaska, and Maggie Scott Moros, LEED AP, communications at HDR Inc., Lawrenceville, N.J.