National Park Service Glacier Bay Huna Tribal House

National Park Service Glacier Bay Huna Tribal House
Location: Bartlett Cove, Alaska
Size: 3,568 SF, Tribal House + Support Services Building
RSA provided mechanical and electrical design services for construction of the new Huna Tribal House buildings. The Tribal House serves as the main gathering space, with additional rooms for storage, and mechanical and electrical equipment. The Annex building provides support services including restrooms, custodial, and food handling. The Tribal House uses a high efficiency propane furnace to provide heating and ventilation through custom fabricated linear plenum slots built into the architectural wall finish. Ventilation was increased as needed based on carbon dioxide levels sensed in the space. A NFPA-13 fire sprinkler protection system was installed with a dry riser, and utilized exposed copper pipe throughout the building for a more appealing finish than black steel. The Tribal House electrical closet and crawlspace were served by dedicated ventilation fans that cycled on as needed to remove heat and humidity respectively. The Annex building utilizes low water consumption plumbing fixtures and supplies domestic hot water using a propane fired instantaneous water heater. Annex spaces are heated using propane fired wall heaters. The electrical system design included a new electrical service, lighting, theatrical lighting controls for the exhibit displays, telecommunication, and a fire alarm panel. The theatrical lighting system allowed a high level of lighting customization to accommodate the various kinds of activities that were expected to happen in the facility.

The project followed sustainable design standards. Features include the following:

High efficiency LED luminaires throughout the facility, including the interpretive areas.
Automatic lighting controls in back-of-house and common areas to turn lights off when spaces are unoccupied.
Dimming controls in the interpretive areas to allow staff to dial in the exact amount of light needed to maximize energy savings.
Shielded optics on all exterior lighting fixtures to ensure there was no glare on the surrounding environment.