SCinIC | Site Visits & Tribe Updates | Pawnee Housing Authority Site Visit

Pawnee Housing Authority Site Visit«

August, 2012

The Pawnee Nation is located in Oklahoma, approximately an hour outside Tulsa. Oklahoma is known for its tornado activity. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oklahoma averages 55 tornados a year. Housing that provides occupants with protection against severe weather is an important consideration.

The Housing Authority of the Pawnee Tribe (HAPT) is developing plans for four units of housing for elders—either two duplexes or a quadplex. Since the housing authority had not recently built any units, they requested assistance from the Sustainable Construction in Indian Country (SCinIC) initiative to explore options for resilient and energy-efficient materials, as well as other recommendations.

A SCinIC team met with members of the board of commissioners, the executive director, and housing authority staff on May 4th to discuss sustainability and safety issues for the new construction project, and to visit the site.

The lot fronts Hawthorne Street and has two mature pecan trees towards the south side. An alley borders the south side. The picture above is a birds-eye view of the lot from Google Earth.

They discussed materials and strategies, including advanced framing techniques (AFT), structural insulated panels (SIPS), and insulating concrete forms (ICFs) for the envelope of the building. AFTs and SIPs offer increased efficiency over standard framing techniques. However, using either of these, or standard frame construction, would require inclusion of a “safe room” where residents could take shelter in the event of a tornado or other severe weather. This would increase the cost of construction and could pose design integration challenges.

ICFs provide the increased energy efficiency that senior citizens on fixed incomes need to help keep their utility costs in check. ICFs would also harden the entire structure, so that a safe room would not be needed. The SCinIC team began looking into local sources for ICFs while HAPT gathered additional information.

The SCinIC discussion inspired the housing authority and commissioners. They requested that SCinIC provide them with the names of some local developers that use ICFs. They recently completed a trip to Oklahoma City to tour some ICF-built houses. On the day of the visit the temperature outdoors was 96° F; inside the house, the temperature was 79° F--with no air conditioning! The Pawnee Housing Authority has another trip planned to Tulsa to view units and talk with local developers, but are impressed with what they have seen thus far.