A continuation of the Stubborn Programs series – investigating design problems that require fixed formal features in complicated site conditions. This exercise imagines a small plane runway and hangar on one of Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
Rootok is an uninhabited island in the chain, 3.9 miles long and 3.9 miles wide. Covered in volcanic rock, there are no navigation aides, scarce wildlife, and little apparent human influence. An airport here allows for an extreme adventurer's getaway. The runway lies along the highest point - a southern ridge - and is supported at the ends with columns erupting from the rocky cliffs. As planes land, they appear from the clouds. As they take off, they fly into an abyss. The facilities are caves carved from the twin peaks in the center of the runway's stretch, and descend to a tunnel that releases out to the island's hiking trails. On your visit, don't miss the runway's underbelly, clad in obsidian, reflecting the extravagant and severe beauty of Rootok.
