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Master Plan for the South Pole Redevelopment Project3. DESIGN PROCESS: 3.1 Information Gathering: Discussions with senior NSF staff, focused on conceptual design consideration for the project. The director of NSF’s Division of Polar Programs(1), Peter Wilkness, PhD, envisioned a station that would be so environmentally benign, that if it were lifted off the polar plateau, no trace of it would be found. This shared vision was to be a driving force in the conceptual design of the station. Secondary discussions and studies focused on determining the functional and technical requirements of a new facility that met the present and future requirements of South Pole science programs. The goal was to meet these functional requirements with a safe, efficient and environmentally sound replacement station. Requirements were obtained by interaction with the polar scientific community, the South Pole Station operations management (Antarctic Support Associates) staff, and NSF representatives. The results of these inquiries determined that the enclosed area of the present station consisted of approximately 9,380 square meters (87,000 square feet) and that the proposed design would require an enclosed area of approximately 12,952 square meters (120,000 square feet).
Site condition information was obtained from data compiled by the US Geological Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency as well as NSF situation reports and published scientific data. Site conditions:
The design team made site visits to the station in November of 1992, January of 1993, and January of 1994. The first meetings acquainted the designers with the operations of the station, ongoing research projects, and day to day life at the South Pole. Photos and drawings documented existing conditions of buildings and infrastructure. An area tabulation was made for all building areas of the station and formal programming forms were completed during onsite interviews documenting the uses for each space. High level meetings between National Science Foundation administrators and scientists brought together numerous ideas, concerns and possible design concepts the design team might consider. A Systems Management Seminar was conducted by NSF at St. Michaels, Maryland to define and coordinate all systems such as logistics, communications, and science projects to be affected by the design and construction process. As a result of this information gathering process, a set of design parameters was developed that would guide the master plan and concept design. They were as follows:
(1)The Division of Polar Programs was renamed Office of Polar Programs Proceed to next section: 3. Design Process: 3.2 Review and Consideration of Previous Concepts Table of Contents Return to Publications
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