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, ANTARCTICA 200 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, ARCHITECTURE IN THE EXTREME 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. The events will be hosted at the AA from 15 – 21 September 2019.

AA Students are invited to join by emailing info@antarctica200.org

Find out more on the Antarctica 200 website and the London Design Festival website