HOME AWAY FROM HOME Seasonal Workers Housing

DATE: 2014

TEAM:  Myrna Ayoub and Nadia Perlepes

PROJECT LOCATION: Unalaska, Alaska

PROGRAM:  400 housing units, transportation links and supporting amenities

A “Home Away from Home” responds to Alaska’s rich heritage of fishing: its effect on the growth of cities and the economy of the state in the proposed site of Unalaska and Dutch Harbor, the leading commercial fishing port in the nation. In a city with a population of 4,200, there are 36,000 seasonal workers per year. Given the influx of seasonal workers during the fishery seasons, this project proposes a housing project that instills a new way of living and acknowledges the city of Unalaska’s current undertaking of a housing initiative and the need for increased quality and affordable housing throughout the city.

The proposal aims to create a development that could be easily constructed and transported to such a remote location. The unit is adopted from the original bivak studies that created an amphitheatrical interior unit from half of a shipping container. Each container is connected by a joint that acts as the communal space for the workers. This system is explored in two developments: A sloped mountain overlooking Dutch Harbor and a flat site adjacent to the main city center.  The aggregation of these joints and units explores spaces that provide a connection with nature through beautiful views and create courtyard pockets for various programs. These supplemental programs serve as spaces of interaction among the seasonal workers and locals, providing a means of blurring boundaries between the populations. These interactions promote communication, tolerance, and an understanding of culture. The aim of this development is to create a “Home Away from Home” for these often displaced seasonal workers a home of comfort, quality, and community.

Aggregation Studies

Massing Models ZCorp 3D Prints