In 2008, SIKU Construction successfully managed the construction of the weather service office and upper inflation shelter facility in Barrow, AK.
SIKU Construction was contracted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and NOAA to design and construct a new 3,000 square foot facility comprised of an office, conference room, kitchen, instrument maintenance, garage, standby power generation, and balloon launch structure to serve NOAA in its weather forecasting functions. This facility’s function is to inflate, launch, and track weather balloons twice per day at 12-hour intervals, 365 days per year and was designed for continual operation in extreme Arctic conditions with temperatures ranging from -45° to +70°. With limited time for construction due to the compacted building season on the North Slope, SIKU Construction was able to meet the customer’s specification while providing consideration for endangered species and minimizing the impact to the environment.
