ANTARCTICA 200
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 most
inhospitable environment on planet earth with record temperatures of -80°C and maximum wind velocities
of 327km/h, we believe it is urgent to research and document the extreme Antarctic territory with critical
tools of analysis and representation.
Conceived to shed light on a continent that lies in the dark six months per year, Antarctica 200 is a cross-
disciplinary project that aims to unveil the unique traits of the continent-laboratory, asses its indisputable
role in the global ecosystem, understand the conflicting and fragile geopolitical implications of the Antarctic
Treaty System, and document the evolution of Antarctic architecture to challenge the state of the arts and
bring to the foreground prototypes for inhabitation in the extreme.
A detailed analysis of Antarctic settlements (from historic whalers shelters to the hyper-advanced
contemporary scientific stations) will be instrumental to assess the logistic and technological complexity of
building in such an extreme environment, the physical and psychological effects of remote inhabitation, and
the levels of self-sustainability attainable with today’s technology - the latter being of upmost importance
when considering life on other planets.
Directed by Giulia Foscari and Francesco Bandarin, Antarctica 200 relies on the close collaboration of a
group of global experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, science, glaciology, international law,
anthropology, fashion technology, literature and art.
Ranging from the scale of clothing (arguably the first architectural envelope at Antarctic latitudes) to that of
the rapidly transforming polar territory, the body of research will ultimately be disseminated in the form of a Publication.