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Antarctic Resolution
Publication, 2021
Accounting for approximately 10% of the land mass of Planet Earth, Antarctica – first theorised by the ancient Greeks yet only ‘discovered’ after the Industrial Revolution – is a Global Commons we collectively neglect. Far from being a pristine natural landscape, the continent is a contested territory which conceals not only resources that might prove irresistible in a world with ever-increasing population growth but also scientific data crucial to inform future environmental policies. The kilometres-thick stratum of ice that has accumulated on its bedrock for millions of years, equivalent to around 70% of the fresh water on our planet, represents both an indispensable resource for human survival and the greatest menace to global coastal settlements threatened by the rise in sea levels induced by anthropogenic global warming.
On the eve of the 200th anniversary of the first recorded sighting of Antarctica, Giulia Foscari / UNLESS invited over 200 specialists from the fields of architecture, biology, chemistry, climate science, engineering, geography, history, law, literature, logistics, medicine, physics, political science, sociology, technology, and the visual arts to join in a collective effort to produce the first holistic body of research on the continent and unveil the complexity of the natural and political forces concealed in 26 quadrillion tons of ice.
Antarctic Resolution advocates the rejection of the pixelated view of Antarctica offered to us by Big Data companies and urges the construction of a high-resolution image focusing on the continent’s unique geography, unparalleled scientific potential contemporary geopolitical significance, experimental governance system, and extreme inhabitation model. Aspiring to broadcast knowledge on the continent and the Southern Ocean that surrounds it, provoke change, and ultimately mobilise future generations to undertake a true Antarctic resolution, the research reveals the intricate web of growing economic and strategic interests, tensions, and international rivalries that are deliberately enveloped in total darkness, as is the continent for six months per year.
The result of such collaborative effort was compiled into a publication edited by Giulia Foscari / UNLESS, entitled Antarctic Resolution. Articulated in three main sections – focussing on geopolitics, science, and architecture – the 1000-page volume presents the findings in the form of authored texts, photographic essays, infographics, cartographies and architectural drawings. The publication includes the first census of Antarctic architectures, conceived as an open access archive which promotes a reduction of the contaminating anthropogenic footprint on the continent.
Learning from Antarctica’s spirit of cooperation, built upon the total reliance on one another to survive, with Antarctic Resolution UNLESS aspires to launch a platform, an agency for change, in which planetary citizens can engage in a coordinated and unanimous effort – independent of nation – to shape the future of Antarctica, and, in turn, of our planet.
Download Press Release here
Photo Credits © Delfino Sisto Legnani
On the eve of the 200th anniversary of the first recorded sighting of Antarctica, Giulia Foscari / UNLESS invited over 200 specialists from the fields of architecture, biology, chemistry, climate science, engineering, geography, history, law, literature, logistics, medicine, physics, political science, sociology, technology, and the visual arts to join in a collective effort to produce the first holistic body of research on the continent and unveil the complexity of the natural and political forces concealed in 26 quadrillion tons of ice.
Antarctic Resolution advocates the rejection of the pixelated view of Antarctica offered to us by Big Data companies and urges the construction of a high-resolution image focusing on the continent’s unique geography, unparalleled scientific potential contemporary geopolitical significance, experimental governance system, and extreme inhabitation model. Aspiring to broadcast knowledge on the continent and the Southern Ocean that surrounds it, provoke change, and ultimately mobilise future generations to undertake a true Antarctic resolution, the research reveals the intricate web of growing economic and strategic interests, tensions, and international rivalries that are deliberately enveloped in total darkness, as is the continent for six months per year.
The result of such collaborative effort was compiled into a publication edited by Giulia Foscari / UNLESS, entitled Antarctic Resolution. Articulated in three main sections – focussing on geopolitics, science, and architecture – the 1000-page volume presents the findings in the form of authored texts, photographic essays, infographics, cartographies and architectural drawings. The publication includes the first census of Antarctic architectures, conceived as an open access archive which promotes a reduction of the contaminating anthropogenic footprint on the continent.
Learning from Antarctica’s spirit of cooperation, built upon the total reliance on one another to survive, with Antarctic Resolution UNLESS aspires to launch a platform, an agency for change, in which planetary citizens can engage in a coordinated and unanimous effort – independent of nation – to shape the future of Antarctica, and, in turn, of our planet.
| Title: | Antarctic Resolution |
| Editor: | Giulia Foscari / UNLESS |
| Editorial Assistant: | Federica Zambeletti |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Author: | 150 interdisciplinary specialists |
| Publisher: | Lars Müller Publishers |
| Design: | Giulia Foscari with Integral Lars Müller |
| Format: | 120 × 26.4 cm, 1000 pages, paperback |
| Details: | 2021, ISBN 978-3-03778-640-6, English |
Download Press Release here
Photo Credits © Delfino Sisto Legnani
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