Teaching tradition: a new school in Kotlik, Alaska Petra Sattler-Smith
k otlik is located on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, surrounded by thousands of unnamed rivers and lakes in a coastal wetland region. There are no trees on the horizon to stop the polar winds during the winter, and every summer breath is mosquito laden. The native community of 600 is as remote as the climate is extreme. 400 air miles from Anchorage, Kotlik is only accessible by air or water. The Yukon River functions as a main street, allowing travel to other villages by boat in the summer and via snow machine in the winter. Boardwalks keep your feet dry within the village, cars and streets have no use here. The form of the school reinterprets the qasgiq , a traditional Yupik com- munal dwelling where children were educated by elders and community gatherings brightened up the long, cold winter nights. It was a classroom, guest house, sweat lodge and place to play games, dance and celebrate. The qasgiq was the social and ceremonial center of village life 1 . The layout of the new kindergarten to grade 12 replacement school emphasizes the importance of a qasgiq -like place within a modern edu- cational environment.Community functions (gym, multi-purpose room, kitchen and library) are combined into one central volume.The separate classroom domain is organized in a linear additive way, reflecting an openness to the world 2. . A p athway system flows through the facility, carving out places for informal exchange leading to the qasgiq where weddings, funerals and potlatch take place. A drying rack outside the cultural room incorpo- rates traditional elements for integration in today’s education. The low and long entry into to the high volume space is reminiscent of tradi- tional, regional dwelling forms. Like a Kevin Lynch node, it is a primary visible junction in the facility. A south facing bridge within the pathway links this centre with the class- rooms, allowing a long view of the horizontal landscape and a reflective connection between the two functions. The school is visible from the next village 35 miles away.The silhouette shows clarity and simplicity of form against the sky. Metal roof and siding reflect a utilitarian approach to materials and use, anchored in the traditional spirit of rural Alaska. Several smaller spaces push past this simple metal skin, reaching out into the community to the landscape beyond. The form of the school responds to the primal qualities of the surrounding land. In this treeless arctic tundra environment, architec- tural space as a physical counterpart can be as powerful as the sur- rounding nature.
1 Ann Fienup-Riordon, Hunting Tradition in a Changing World. 2 Christian Norberg-Schulz, Existence, Space & Architecture.
On Site review 11
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Spring 2004
Architecture of the Circumpolar Region
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