Almost every single one of the 200 residents of Whittier, Alaska, lives in the same building.

The 14-storey former army barracks is located on the edge of the town, which also contains the town’s police station, church, supermarket and health clinic. Whittier’s school is located just a short walk away, through accessed through a subterranean tunnel – considered particularly useful in a town that, on average, gets 635cm of snow every winter.

The town can only be accessed during the winter via a tunnel, that runs at one direction at a time and closes every night. Almost all of the activity is confined to the 14-storey Begich Towers, where visitors to Whittier’s B&B can find the intimacy and confinement stifling.

The video below explores life in the Begich Towers, interviewing school teacher Erika Thompson on how Whittier’s residents get along. 

(H/T: NPR)