Sergiu-Radu Pop, an architecture student taught by Zaha Hadid at Studio Hadid Vienna, unveiled development plans for the Earth’s final frontier with his proposed Transformable Antarctic Research Facility. The project envisions a sprawling center for vital research as well as environmental tourism, filled with spaces like exhibition halls, exercise rooms, accommodation, conference chambers, observation decks, and port transportation stations.
The influence of Pop’s mentor, Hadid, is clear in the building’s soaring, futuristic design. Located on a rugged coastline, the dynamic structure juts out over the water while also extending upwards with a curved glass tower. The architecture student’s primary design tool was biomimicry, as shown in the way the facility’s sweeping shape mimics the jagged, asymmetrical edges of ice formations along the Antarctic coast.
