1. Structural Surveys of Critical Buildings
The first objective for the DRU Project is to conduct engineering structural surveys of two of the most critical buildings on campus. The two buildings selected were the Christian T. Elvey Building, and the Whitaker Fire Station, constructed in 1970 and 1964 respectively, prior to the implementation of seismic building codes in Alaska.
The Elvey building contains, among other things, the Geophysical Institute (a large international research organization), the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the National Weather Service Fairbanks office, and the Alaska Earthquake Information Center, which is the primary seismic monitoring center for the state.
The Whitaker Fire Station houses the University of Alaska Fire Department, a full-time paid fire department and ALS ambulance service staffed primarily by the UAF students which serves campus and 16,000 surrounding residents. Both of these buildings are critical to the continued life safety, not only of UAF, but of the surrounding community and the state of Alaska.
Elvey Building Built in 1970 |
Built in 1964 |