Atmospheric | Metabolic:Subsistence in the Antarctic

Antarctica remains as the last bastion of vestal earth; still the perceivably vacant landscape seems an unlikely setting for the discussion of architecture. The vast continent boastsno permanent human residents and as a result has proven to be the most optimal case study of climate change. As its namesake suggests, the Anthropocene has known more widespread urban coverage than any other period. Not just urban sprawl, but all landscapes in service of such urbanism, such as industrial farming and oceanic gyres impact life at the poles. To understand humanity’s global influence on nature, we glean the most substantive information from areas that thrive in our absence. Evaluating the effects on marine life, the formation and degradation of ice, and the altered conditions of the ecology will help to inform ways in which architecture can better adapt to its polar environment.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.107.5

Volume Editors
Amy Kulper, Grace La & Jeremy Ficca

ISBN
978-1-944214-21-0