Where We Work
Xtreme Habitats Institute (XHI) is a research nonprofit focused on developing, validating, and sharing practical construction technologies that reduce the cost and complexity of building in extreme environments, starting in Alaska.
What is an “Extreme Habitat”?
Extreme habitats are environments where standard construction assumptions break down, often due to a combination of climate stressors, isolation, constrained logistics, limited skilled labor, and non-standard supply chains. These conditions drive the most expensive and difficult builds.
In places like Alaska and the Arctic, that can include cold and snow, permafrost, short shipping windows, scarce skilled labor, and code/inspection friction that slows adoption of new methods. Other areas of the world also present unique building challenges: places where it is brutally hot, making traditional construction difficult; or places that are especially remote, making building challenging and cost-prohibitive.
What we learn here in Alaska (and other areas of the world) will also certainly give insight on how to develop colonies on the moon or Mars using expeditionary 3D printing using local regoliths. That is far more challenging, but if we can’t overcome tough environments here on our own planet, where we have oxygen and full gravity, how can we ever hope to do it beyond?
For now, XHI is focusing primarily on the Arctic and Alaska to address the need for more affordable housing. For example, XHI has built the first 3D-Printed house in Nome, Alaska to much fanfare. We continue to learn and refine this project, and what we learn about mobile 3D Concrete Printing can be applied elsewhere: even to temperate areas prone to flooding or fires, where concrete structures offer survivability or rapid remediation in case of disasters.
Why Alaska?
Alaska offers a variety of challenges including isolated communities, difficult logistics, supply line isolation, short shipping windows, scarce skilled labor, cold, snow, flooding, and permafrost. As a result, remote Alaska is an ideal candidate for research and development of innovative technologies.
Xtreme Habitats Institute (XHI) is focused on creating affordable and sustainable solutions that thrive under the most extreme conditions. Our goal is to generate solutions that work in extreme environments here on Earth, and can help enable sustainable living off-planet.
Study after scientific study has linked Alaskan geology and arctic conditions with parallels on the moon and Mars: from the way glacial debris and avalanches change the surrounding landscape to periods of prolonged sunlight/darkness, to the issues of permafrost and extreme low temperatures. We are working to locally source and fabricate cement and concrete for use in Alaska. As we develop automated and computer-aided 3D-printed construction techniques, our desire is to create deployable packages that can be airlifted to remote locations to leverage and print with local materials.
Alaska’s Housing Crisis
Reducing Costs with 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP)
One of XHI’s current projects uses 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP). Xtreme Habitats Institute is actively working to demonstrate 3D-printed housing in the city of Nome. As co-recipients of a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) research grant, we are jointly working in partnership with the City of Nome, Penn State University, and X-Hab 3D. As part of the project, XHI is investigating local options for sourcing and testing aggregates and identifying the best cost-effective and sustainable concrete mixtures.
Modular Prefabricated Components
Xtreme Habitats has researched and is using modular housing materials and components to supply housing solutions in many Alaskan communities. XHI has applied successful cold-climate research and developed a subsidiary called Polar Tough Homes that offers foldable housing that is durable, efficient, and warmly insulated. This housing offers rapid assembly which is dramatically more affordable than traditional construction methods in Arctic environments.
Furthering Research
By working with local Alaskan communities to address their immediate needs, XHI intends to take these lessons learned and reapply them to other areas and communities. We hope that, going forward, the valuable insights we will gain from these efforts will create affordable, durable housing components in the state of Alaska, and beyond.
Current Project in Nome
Xtreme Habitats Institute has entered into a research consortium with Penn State University and the City of Nome, Alaska in order to ensure a collaborative approach to testing the viability of 3D concrete printing used for affordable housing in Alaska.
This research consortium was awarded a contract by the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for producing a 3D-printed structure in Nome, AK, along with support from organizations such as the Denali Commission and the Alaska Housing Finance Commission.