Conversations
Antarctic Conversations - Sustainability VS Self-Sufficiency
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.
Known to the general public mainly as the barometer of climate change (with media broadcasting alarming predictions on the unprecedented rate at which Antarctic ice is melting) very little is known of the effects of the human footprint on the continent itself. Whilst necessary to conduct reliable models on the planetary evolution, to date (most) scientific stations could be regarded as contaminating elements on the pristine landscape. The underlying difficulty of conceiving fully sustainable buildings in a continent that lies in the dark six months per year and in which winds reach a maximum recorded speed of 327 Km/h generates a profound contradiction: stations that were erected to inform a more responsible use of the world’s resources end up consuming unprecedented and disproportional quantities of fuel to be safely operational. The second Antarctic Conversation will invite the panellists to reflect on such paradox and discuss design solutions that might allow for greater self-sufficiency, and thus autonomy, to future Antarctic architectures. The presentations will include reflections on building site management, on Antarctic building services design, on the criticality of the architectural envelope at extreme temperatures, on the unique challenges of managing a scientific station on shifting ice, and finally on the achievements of sustainable design in the continent.
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.
Known to the general public mainly as the barometer of climate change (with media broadcasting alarming predictions on the unprecedented rate at which Antarctic ice is melting) very little is known of the effects of the human footprint on the continent itself. Whilst necessary to conduct reliable models on the planetary evolution, to date (most) scientific stations could be regarded as contaminating elements on the pristine landscape. The underlying difficulty of conceiving fully sustainable buildings in a continent that lies in the dark six months per year and in which winds reach a maximum recorded speed of 327 Km/h generates a profound contradiction: stations that were erected to inform a more responsible use of the world’s resources end up consuming unprecedented and disproportional quantities of fuel to be safely operational. The second Antarctic Conversation will invite the panellists to reflect on such paradox and discuss design solutions that might allow for greater self-sufficiency, and thus autonomy, to future Antarctic architectures. The presentations will include reflections on building site management, on Antarctic building services design, on the criticality of the architectural envelope at extreme temperatures, on the unique challenges of managing a scientific station on shifting ice, and finally on the achievements of sustainable design in the continent.
| 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: | Tony McGlory (Ramboll Engineering) Hugh Broughton (Hugh Broughton Architects), Oliver Darke (British Antarctic Survey), Philippe Samyn (Samyn and Partners) |
| Team: | Eleonora Cappuccio, Giulio Marchetti, Federica Zambeletti |
Photo Credits © Fred Portelli
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