Aboriginal riches
For the Alaskan Indians, the habitat is the result of a perfect match between structural form and cultural values. The habitat is a small-scale representation of the cosmos, where everything has meaning and order. The Inuit are famous for the igloo, a feat of architecture since this domed structure is built without external support. A row of snow blocks is arranged in a circle. The following blocks are cut with oblique edges and arranged in a spiral, each row sloping inward a little more until a rounded, vaulted shape is created. Snow is used to fill the gaps between the blocks. Igloos often have a tunnel entrance with a cold barrier, while inside, the walls are sometimes covered with animal skins to keep warm. In the summer, the Inuit live in simple tents made of animal skins, while in the spring and fall, they reside either in igloos whose snow dome has been replaced by a superstructure of skins, or in stone huts with a square plan and grass roofs. The important thing was to be able to build quickly and easily near hunting and fishing areas.
In the Thule culture, winter houses are semi-subterranean structures made of stone, earth, moss, driftwood and sod, with an entrance consisting of a narrow underground passage several metres long providing a powerful barrier against the cold. There are also completely underground dwellings. These are composed of a circular, square or oval pit in which are planted the posts and beams of the structure whose roof is made of logs well caulked with layers of earth and grass. The entrance is then usually through an opening in the roof.
On the plains, Aboriginal people still prefer the tipi, a conical structure made of wooden poles and covered with skins sewn together with strips of sinew, held together by a circle of stones surrounding the tipi. The number and length of the poles vary and offer an infinite number of shapes to these tents. The women are often in charge of the construction, from debarking the poles to sewing the skins. The entrance to the tipis is always to the east, on the side of the sunrise and against the prevailing winds. Some Aboriginal peoples have also developed an astonishing wood architecture, sometimes on stilts as in Ketchikan, and of which the plank house is the most widespread element. The latter is composed of a framework of posts and beams on which long planks are then fixed... These covering planks can be removed and transported to allow the construction of summer housing. Some villages are made of rows of plank houses creating a very strong impression of horizontality, contrasting with the verticality of the colored and carved totems. These sculptural masterpieces are "the book of the history of these peoples that keeps it alive. The Totem Bight State Historical Park in Ketchikan or the Sealaska Heritage Institute, with its decor designed by Robert Davidson, from the Haida community, are essential places to better understand these native treasures.
Eclectic whirlwind
Upon their arrival in the 18th century, Russian explorers established fur trading posts in Kodiak and Sitka. In Sitka, they also built a fort surrounded by a palisade from which wooden towers emerged. In general, this "Russian colonial style" is characterized by rectangular or polygonal plans, and constructions made of wooden logs perfectly intertwined and creating a feeling of horizontality and massiveness. The Orthodox churches, still very present in the Gulf of Alaska, in particular, are distinguished by their lighter aspect. These churches are often small wooden houses, usually painted white, and topped with colored bulbous steeples, as in Ninilchik. The Russian Bishop's House in Sitka and the Russian American Magazin are among the oldest Russian buildings in Alaska. The gold rush saw the birth of innumerable " boomtowns", meaning towns built in less time than it takes to say it! The rules of construction were always the same: first, a square wooden building with one or two stories and a nearly flat roof was built to minimize the loss of space, then a sort of facade was added, extending beyond the roofline, with medallions, crenellations and tiers adorning the gables. Skagway is the typical example of these "instant cities" built entirely of wood. It is from Skagway that the little train leaves to go to the White Pass whose narrow tracks, bridges and wooden tunnels built in 1899-1900 are real architectural feats. To understand the effervescence that reigned in these new towns, don't miss the visit of the remains of the mining town of Kennicott with its gigantic 14-story wooden factory!
This golden age also succumbed to the fashion of eclecticism, mixing styles in the purest Victorian tradition. Large windows, elaborate porch decorations, cupolas and cornices characterize the so-called "Italianate" style, inspired by the codes of the Italian Renaissance and often found in commercial buildings such as the Bon Marché Building in Ketchikan. The Queen Anne style, with its steeply pitched roofs, columned porches, towers and projecting bay windows, was used more for private homes, as the residential areas of Nome and Juneau clearly show. Then, at the turn of the century, a wind of revival blew on Alaska. The Mayflower School in Douglas or the Houck House of the Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka are perfect examples of the Colonial Revival inspired by the Georgian style and the Federal Style which was very popular on the East Coast. Pedimented doors and windows, symmetrical facades, and wooden window frames are some of the characteristics of this style. The Neoclassic Revival with its monumental porches with Ionic and Corinthian columns, its balustrades, pediments, friezes and pilasters, will be used for prestigious buildings like the Alaska Governor's Mansion in Juneau or the Masonic Temple in Fairbanks. Finally, the Tudor Revival, inspired by the British medieval architecture with its high gabled roofs, its facades decorated with half-timbering, its stucco, wood and brick decorations and its stone mouldings, can be found in buildings such as the Folta House in Juneau and the Allen Auditorium of the Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka.
However, from the beginning of the 20th century, some people preferred more sober styles inspired by traditional Asian wooden buildings, the English Arts and Crafts movement and the richness of craftsmanship to these historicizing, somewhat grandiloquent styles. The Bungalow - or Craftsman - style is the most famous of these styles. Open floor plans, exposed rafters and wooden structural elements, and overhanging roofs characterize the buildings of this style, of which the Norman R. Walker House in Ketchikan is a fine example. A sobriety that will reach its apogee with the rustic style, which is found especially in rural areas. The purpose of this style is to blend into the environment, hence the absence of ornamentation, and to show all the potential of local materials. This rustic style is inseparable from the "cabins" and ranger stations that dot the national parks and reserves of Alaska. In this case, we even speak of the rustic style of the National Park Service, often shortened to "parkitecture". These "cabins" are almost all identical: a log structure, a single room with a square or rectangular plan, a gable roof whose overhanging gable is supported by wooden posts creating a sort of porch; the whole resting on a stone foundation. The Rock House in Denali National Park or the Skater's Cabin in the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau are two good examples. Looking for something unusual? Don't miss the unclassifiable and exceptional "Dr. Seuss House" that the famous children's author Theodor Seuss Geisel built for himself between Willow and Talkeetna. On a traditional wooden "cabin", he imagined a tower whose floors decrease in size until the top, giving the whole thing a pagoda-like appearance!
Modern and contemporary architecture
In the 1930s, the clean, simple lines, smooth white concrete volumes, and geometric tile and glass brick decorations of Art Deco made their appearance in Alaska. The Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage is, by far, the most beautiful building of this style, opening the way to modernity. This modernism can be seen in the numerous buildings with massive horizontal volumes, flat roofs and smooth concrete or stuccoed exteriors, such as the Masonic Temple in Ketchikan. Gradually, this modernism was to be adorned with the trappings of the triumphant international style, with buildings with metal frames on which were fixed astonishing glass curtain walls, or cladding in enamelled porcelain panels or coloured glass ceramics. Their volumes are simple, their interiors spacious and their decorations very sober. The First Federal Savings Building in Anchorage and the City Hall in Seward are two excellent examples. As you can see, this modernism was accompanied by the construction of numerous glass and steel towers, which were the favorite playground of the Corporate Modern style. Following the theories of great figures of modernism such as Le Corbusier or Mies Van der Rohe, the architects of this style favored structures on stilts to free up the base and allow the creation of squares and public spaces and brilliant natural surfaces. The Atwood Building in Anchorage is a good example. The Gruening Building of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks illustrates the brutalist tendencies of the time, leaving the material raw and unvarnished in buildings that look like monolithic blocks.
But some people quickly found this modernism too pure and monotonous, and therefore turned to a post-modernism oscillating between expressionism and deconstructivism, having fun playing with volumes, perspectives, and materials in order to arouse emotion. The Alaska Center for the Performing Arts in Anchorage is the great representative of this post-modernism. Some even chose to fight against this modernism by reinterpreting in a contemporary way the great elements of classical architecture (arches, columns, pediments, pilasters...). The Atwood Center at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage is a good example. In the 1980s, the city, which had embarked on projects with pharaonic costs, thanks to the oil boom of the 1970s, entered a terrible phase of stagnation, most of these buildings (shopping centers, residential buildings...) being abandoned for lack of buyers. After gold, the price of oil became the new "decider" of the fate of the country's cities.
Today, Alaska succeeds in bringing together tradition and innovation in amazing contemporary creations, especially museums. In 2009, the famous architect David Chipperfield reinvented theAnchorage Museum, adding an elegant extension with clean lines and wrapping the building in glass cubes. Another superb museum is the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska, whose sharp angles and juxtaposition of volumes recall the surrounding glaciers. The environment was also a source of inspiration for the Alaska State Library Archives Museum, whose ceilings echo the angles and curves of the Alaskan mountains, while the exterior volumes recall the flight of a bird. Its concrete walls and columns are enhanced by elegant wood and terra cotta details. And let's not forget the incredible Aurora Ice Museum in Fairbanks, the largest ice building in the world: 1,000 tons of ice were needed to build its walls and sculptures!
The contemporary history of Alaska can also be read through the evolution of its housing and residential areas. In the immediate post-war period, many Americans moved to find work. This migration led to an increase in the population that had to be housed quickly and cheaply. Compact, single-story, with a simple plan and minimal ornamentation, the new houses of the time followed two very fashionable styles: the "Minimal Traditional" and the "Transitional Ranch", whose sobriety and minimalism were the watchwords. The "Modern Ranch" style, with its L or U-shaped plans, wide facades, exposed ridge beams, imposing chimneys, and brick and stone cladding, was very successful in the residential suburbs. It will even be declined in neoclassical and Tudor ranch! Adapting to new lifestyles and consumerism, houses gradually grew in size, gaining floors and playing with levels (often requiring a flight of stairs to reach the entrance). Some houses are resolutely more original like the A-Frame Houses with their gabled roofs with vertiginous slopes giving the house an A shape, or the geodesic domes inspired by igloos... But very quickly, the return to the traditional patterns becomes more present, marking the eternal restart of things. So dare to walk around the residential suburbs because their houses are fascinating storytellers!
