Ferraz Station

This remote science facility was the result of an intensive and collaborative design competition for Brazil’s Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station. The new 32,400 square-foot research/living/working habitat with separate operations and maintenance facilities of 11,300 square feet is located on the Keller Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica.

The Brazilian Antarctic Program (BAP) has had a presence in Antarctica since 1984. Research performed there includes marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, astronomy, organic and inorganic chemistry, meteorology and environmental sciences. The facility will support a summer population of 64 and a winter-over population of 34.

The design competition was sponsored by the Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil (Institute of Brazilian Architects) and the Brazilian Navy (represented by the Interministerial Commission for Ocean Resources Office), to select a team to design the replacement of the original station destroyed by fire in February, 2012. The program called for an innovative, functional, safe and energy-efficient Antarctic research station with a distinctly Brazilian identity.

The new Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station re-established the much-needed Brazilian research endeavor in Antarctica.