Case Study: Architects Alaska achieves a permafrost-ready, community-focused Yukon-Kuskokwim Fitness Center with Autodesk AutoCAD

Designing for Construction in Remote and Extreme Conditions

Architects Alaska was tasked with designing the 23,000-square-foot Yukon‑Kuskokwim Fitness Center in Bethel, Alaska — a remote, roadless site where buildings must be raised on pilings to protect fragile permafrost. The firm had to solve extreme site and climate constraints, complex piling and shop-drawing requirements, limited on‑site labor skills, long shipping logistics, and tight budget and schedule pressures, using Autodesk tools such as AutoCAD and the Architecture toolset.

Using Autodesk AutoCAD, Architects Alaska produced everything from early space‑analysis studies to detailed shop drawings for thermosyphon pilings, 3D models, and a modular, repeatable tile pattern for the pool. Autodesk’s drafting and block/hatch capabilities let the team scope the project, keep designs buildable for local crews, and deliver a more complex, colorful, and efficient facility than would normally be possible in Arctic Alaska — resulting in a completed 23,000‑sq‑ft community fitness center with a constructible custom pool design that met budget and logistical constraints.

Architects Alaska

Melanie Mangione

Architect and Certified Interior Designer