Alaskan village school gets a new home

Ayagina’ar Elitnaurvik, a new K-12 school serving the Lower Kuskikwim School District, is now open in Kongiganak, a remote Alaskan village of less than 400 residents. The 34,000-sf, 12-classroom facility replaces one that was threatened by river erosion. BDS Architects, Anchorage, designed the new school with energy-efficient technologies, as well as SMART Boards and remote audio-visual learning equipment. The facility has a full-size gym with 150-seat retractable bleachers, a small motor workshop and woodshop, and a group science lab. Alaska Mechanical Inc. was the contractor.