The project for the new headquarters of the Polish Antarctic Station named after Henryk Arctowski on King George Island in Antarctica, designed by Kurylowicz & Associates, has been awarded a silver medal in the World Architecture News Awards 2019. Congratulations!
The Kurylowicz & Associates studio, which created the design of the Polish Antarctic Station in cooperation with Buro Happold, was awarded in the Future Education Projects category.
visualization
© Kurylowicz & Associates
Located in one of the world's most inaccessible regions, the station will provide a temporary home for Polish scientists conducting research in oceanography, geology, geomorphology, glaciology, meteorology, seismology, biology and ecology, as well as monitoring observations: ecological, glaciological and meteorological.
location
© Kurylowicz & Associates
The shape and form of the new station building was influenced primarily by meteorological conditions and logistical considerations. Due to its unique location and harsh weather conditions, the facility will be built on the mainland, and then disassembled and transported to the island. It should be possible to assemble the properly prepared modules within three months.
The design, which is based on the form of a three-armed star, takes into account, among other things, the visibility of the station site and the surrounding bay, sunlight and shading, wind directions and the climatically imposed method of entering the building.
wind analysis
© Kurylowicz & Associates
The lump of the station was shaped and oriented to reduce the impact of wind blowing from the three main directions. Tests on physical models enabled the architects to create a form that controls the effect of blowing snow and levels the size of the resulting snowdrifts.
façade construction
© Kurylowicz & Associates
According to the architects, the main part of the building, whose main structure consists of glulam elements, will sit on a platform made of steel profiles. Such a solution will allow the station to be elevated above ground level, ensure the rigidity of the structure and create space for the technical equipment used to operate it. The facade will be made of heavy-duty sheet metal - an aluminum and copper alloy.
You can read more about the station, which is 14,000 kilometers away from Poland, on the website of the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station.
