Conversations
Antarctic Conversations - Permanence VS Temporality
AA School of Architecture, London, 2019
By conceiving a territory in anthesis and naming it Antarctica, the Greeks at once prophetically foresaw the essential role that the ultimate continent laboratory would play in our world’s ecosystem and synthesised in the short prefix (ANT-) the endless paradoxes that the southernmost territory conceals.
Driven by the conviction that it is essential, in the midst of the Anthropocene, to shift the attention South and reflect on existing and future modes of inhabitation in the extreme, Giulia Foscari curates a series of Antarctic Conversations run by UNLESS within the context of the London Design Festival. Antarctic Conversations between polar experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, science, medicine and psychology will unfold at the AA as a tryptic of Round Tables, each addressing a set of Antarctic antinomies.
Intuitively, the unforgiving temperatures of the coldest and driest desert of the world should present the ideal conditions for preservation. Literally “frozen in time”, any artefact that is brought to the continent, when not buried under meters of snow over winter, has the potential of everlasting conservation. Yet, the policies drawn up at the seventh Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (and its later addendums) define the guidelines to ascertain which structures should indeed be listed as Antarctic “Historic Site and Monuments” and which instead should be dismissed from the continent to reduce human contamination. A debate on the paradoxes by which, in Antarctica, permanence is embodied by fragile prefabricated wooden structures that stand as testament of pioneering imperialistic explorations and covert military operations whilst temporality is seen as a defining design constraint for all new experimental scientific station will be central to the first Antarctic Conversation. The presentations will include reflections on the heritage listing criterions, on the logistic challenges of restoring structures at such low latitudes, on the reviewed design requirements for new experimental constructions and on the possibility of rethinking quasi-urban scientific stations.
Photo Credits © Fred Portelli
Driven by the conviction that it is essential, in the midst of the Anthropocene, to shift the attention South and reflect on existing and future modes of inhabitation in the extreme, Giulia Foscari curates a series of Antarctic Conversations run by UNLESS within the context of the London Design Festival. Antarctic Conversations between polar experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, science, medicine and psychology will unfold at the AA as a tryptic of Round Tables, each addressing a set of Antarctic antinomies.
Intuitively, the unforgiving temperatures of the coldest and driest desert of the world should present the ideal conditions for preservation. Literally “frozen in time”, any artefact that is brought to the continent, when not buried under meters of snow over winter, has the potential of everlasting conservation. Yet, the policies drawn up at the seventh Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (and its later addendums) define the guidelines to ascertain which structures should indeed be listed as Antarctic “Historic Site and Monuments” and which instead should be dismissed from the continent to reduce human contamination. A debate on the paradoxes by which, in Antarctica, permanence is embodied by fragile prefabricated wooden structures that stand as testament of pioneering imperialistic explorations and covert military operations whilst temporality is seen as a defining design constraint for all new experimental scientific station will be central to the first Antarctic Conversation. The presentations will include reflections on the heritage listing criterions, on the logistic challenges of restoring structures at such low latitudes, on the reviewed design requirements for new experimental constructions and on the possibility of rethinking quasi-urban scientific stations.
| Project Title: | Architecture in the Extreme |
| Location: | Architectural Association School of Architecture |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Status: | Completed |
| Programme: | Symposium |
| Organizer: | UNLESS, The Polar Lab |
| Moderators: | Francesco Bandarin, Juan Du, Giulia Foscari, Arturo Lyon |
| Speakers: | Michael Morrison (PurcellGeoff Cooper, UK Antarctic Heritage Trust), Hugh Broughton (Hugh Broughton Architects), Rick Petersen (OZ Architecture) |
| Team: | Eleonora Cappuccio, Giulio Marchetti, Federica Zambeletti |
Photo Credits © Fred Portelli
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