Homer Public Library: Building "Outside the Box" to Create a Green Facility in Alaska
1 April, 2008
A small, seaside community with approximately 4,000 residents, the town of Homer, Alaska, may seem like an unlikely location for a state-of-the-art construction project. However from the start, the vision for the Homer Public Library was clear – an architecturally-striking, green structure that would not only become a sanctuary for the community, but would push the landscape of the area forward in both design and function.
The plans for the 17,200-square-foot facility had been developed and discussed for years prior to its opening. The location of the building site and the town itself, which overlooks Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Mountains, presented several unique challenges due to the elements at hand. Extreme temperatures, high wind loads and seasonal sunlight issues were important considerations for the design, engineering and construction of the project.
Awarded Silver LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Homer Public Library was not only the first LEED-certified municipal building in the state of Alaska, it was only the second facility in the state to achieve the Silver rating.
Design Highlights
- With a long, narrow finger of land jutting 4.5 miles into the bay, Homer’s geography played a critical role in the conditions the team had to consider. Constructing an efficient building with numerous glazed elements had historically been a major challenge in the area, but project architects ECI/Hyer Architecture & Interiors wanted to push beyond the status quo of the “brick boxes” found in much of the region and create a more dynamic design. Their design featured numerous glazed elements, including a curtain-walled community reading room and multiple windows throughout.
Challenges
- Solar heat gain was a critical issue for the project, as the angle of the sun and duration of sunlight varies greatly throughout the four seasons in Alaska. The summertime sun is high and can blaze for up to 19 hours a day, while in spring and fall, the sun is low and intense. In midwinter, the area can get as few as five hours of daylight in a 24-hour period.
- In addition to concerns about thermal efficiency and solar heat gain, one of the biggest challenges of the project came from the extreme wind loads that plagued the area. Precise engineering and flawless fabrication were required to ensure the structure could withstand the elements.
Solutions
- To ensure efficiency, the team used thermally broken curtain wall, windows, doors and framing, including Kawneer’s 1600 Wall System®1, 8225TL ISOLOCK® Windows, 512 Ventrow, 360 Insulclad® Entrances and Trifab® VG 451T Framing. The high-performance products helped to create a light-filled community reading room and abundant natural light throughout, without sacrificing thermal efficacy.
- As a solution to the solar heat gain concerns, two rows of 1600 SunShades were incorporated into the curtain wall system. The shades served to defend against solar heat gain and protect the interior of the facility from the sun’s harsh effects.
- The team also relied on Kawneer’s steadfast engineering department to provide a solid system and sound plans to meet the wind load issues. They utilized deeper mullions and cable wind load supports on the interior, making fabrication slightly more challenging, but ultimately successful.
Featured Products
- 1600 Wall System®1 Curtain Wall, 1600 SunShade®, 8225TL ISOLOCK® Windows, 512 Ventrow ISOLOCK® Ventilator, 350 Tuffline® Entrances, 350 Heavy Wall Entrances, 360 Insulclad® Entrances, Trifab® VG (VersaGlaze®) 451 Framing System, Trifab® VG (VersaGlaze®) 451T (Thermal) Framing System and IR 500 Framing System.
With more than 100 years of innovation and experience, Kawneer North America is headquartered in Norcross, GA, and is the leading manufacturer of architectural aluminum products and systems for the commercial construction industry. Kawneer is part of Alcoa’s global Building and Construction Systems (BCS) business unit headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Alcoa BCS manufactures and markets architectural systems and products in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Alcoa is the world’s leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina facilities, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. For more information on Kawneer or its products, please visit www.kawneer.com.
Learn more about Kawneer’s focus on sustainability at Kawneergreen.com.
Viewing documents in PDF format requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available as a free download from the Adobe Web site.
