Academia
Architecture in the Extreme
AA School of Architecture, London, 2019
Human presence in Antarctica, necessary to conduct essential scientific investigations on the pressing global problems of climate change and sea-level rise, is not conceivable without technologically advanced architecture.
At the eve of the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the southernmost continent, the Polar Lab participates to the London Design Festival by curating a dense agenda of events that brings together, for the first time, architects and polar experts who operate in Antarctica to reflect on the implications of building in the extreme.
Held at the Architectural Association, the workshop is conceived as a think-tank in which Polar Lab students and cross-disciplinary specialists are invited to unveil neglected Antarctic stations, and to assess how existing experimental structures can mitigate unforgiving weather conditions and the psycho-physical disorders induced by the combined effects of isolation and high-density co-habitation.
Punctuated by a series of Round Tables, the 168 hours-long programme includes a joint Polar Lab workshop in which students researching at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Hong Kong University and the Architectural Association converge to London to produce the first Archive of Antarctic Architecture.
Photo Credits © Fred Portelli
At the eve of the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the southernmost continent, the Polar Lab participates to the London Design Festival by curating a dense agenda of events that brings together, for the first time, architects and polar experts who operate in Antarctica to reflect on the implications of building in the extreme.
Held at the Architectural Association, the workshop is conceived as a think-tank in which Polar Lab students and cross-disciplinary specialists are invited to unveil neglected Antarctic stations, and to assess how existing experimental structures can mitigate unforgiving weather conditions and the psycho-physical disorders induced by the combined effects of isolation and high-density co-habitation.
Punctuated by a series of Round Tables, the 168 hours-long programme includes a joint Polar Lab workshop in which students researching at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Hong Kong University and the Architectural Association converge to London to produce the first Archive of Antarctic Architecture.
| Project Title: | Architecture in the Extreme |
| Location: | Architectural Association School of Architecture |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Status: | Completed |
| Programme: | Exhibition / Workshop |
| Partner: | London Design Festival |
| Organizer: | UNLESS, The Polar Lab |
| Directors: | Francesco Bandarin, Juan Du, Giulia Foscari, Arturo Lyon |
| Contributors: | Hugh Broughton, Hugh Broughton Architects, Bert Bücking, BOF Architekten,Francesco Pellegrino, ENEA, Rick Petersen, OZ Architecture, Philippe Samyn, Samyn and PartnersTeam: Eleonora Cappuccio, Martina de Barba, Sonja Draskovic, Giulio Marchetti, Federica Zambeletti |
| Polar Lab AR: | Antonella Bernucci, Francesca Dalla Mora, Francesco Famá, Pascal Mondion, Micaela Muchnick, Consuelo Nuñez |
| Polar Lab HK: | Cheung Pak Yin, Kan Ying Sun Karina, Lai Cheuk Yan, Leung Tung Yi Sardonna, Mok Man Wing, Ng Sze Long, Park Subin, Wong Tsz Yan, Yeung Man Ki, Hu Chi Hing, Song Huiqing |
| Polar Lab UK: | Callum Campbell, Swadheet Chaturvedi, Ryan Darius, Noah Gottlieb, Othmane Kandri, Daniel Kiss. |
Photo Credits © Fred Portelli
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