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National
Science Foundation
AMUNDSEN-SCOTT SOUTH POLE STATION
Antarctica
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a premier sustainable
design project designed by the Ferraro Choi A/E team from 1992-99.
An integrated engineering and architectural approach to programming
and design over a seven-year period contributed to making this project
a unique international model for environmentally respectful design.
Due to the project's unique location and its mission of providing
an environmentally benign human presence on the pristine polar plateau,
sustainable design was paramount in every design decision.
Sustainable Design Strategies:
- All heating is provided by jacket cooling and exhaust gas heat
exchangers at the primary diesel power plant.
- Alternative energy systems use wind and solar power providing
up to 14% of the station's power requirements.
- Good indoor air quality is ensured by specification of low VOC
(volatile organic compounds) paints, adhesives, caulking compounds,
and insulation.
- All water is derived from the surrounding ice field and strictly
rationed.
- Existing buildings were dismantled and reconstructed to reduce
retrograde and waste generation.
- New buildings are sited to dramatically reduce snow plowing, which
had accounted for a major portion of the station's fuel usage.
- All building systems were designed to reduce waste in the shipping
and construction process.
- All waste materials are processed and returned to the continental
U.S for disposal.
- To double its useful life, the building can be raised above
the snow surface as required with a unique jackable column system.
- Specifications preclude environmental destructive materials
as described by the Antarctic Treaty.
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was named as one of Popular Science Magazine's Best of What's New for 2007 in Engineering. The South Pole project was named alongside seven other engineering marvels including the Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit,
Britain's multiplex Wembley Stadium,
Qatar's 984-foot-tall Aspire Tower, and Northern Ireland's SeaGen marine current tidal turbine.
Refer also to our Amundsen-Scott South
Pole Station Case Study.
Return to Sustainable Architecture or Project Portfolio.
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