Antarctic Resolution

In 2022, we were approached by the research and design agency UNLESS to develop an open access platform, transforming their extensive research publication, 'Antarctic Resolution', into a digital archive and research tool. In the spirit of data democratization, the platform aimed to make the entire project freely accessible, translatable, and downloadable.

 

Antarctic Resolution is a transnational research project authored by 150 leading world Antarctic experts, with the aim to disseminate knowledge on our neglected seventh continent. It took the form of a 1000 page publication, featuring over 150 essays, 800+ photographs, 100 cartographies, infographics, and architectural drawings, and a comprehensive bibliography.

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In order to design a platform reshaping a printed book into an interactive site, we needed to devise a new methodology taking advantage of the ways each format contributes to a reader's experience. Drawing from the visual concept of viewing documents laid out on a table, each essay from the book is presented in the platform as a photographic tile, giving an instantaneous overview of the publication. This design also alludes to the varying degrees of accuracy and resolution offered by satellite map tiles of Antarctica.

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The platform presents the contributions grouped by the chapters outlined in the printed publication, and it also allows a reader to filter the essays by content theme, author, or type. This book that collects multiple viewpoints and agendas from hundreds of authors becomes its own library online, giving both scholars and casual users a way to navigate the publication in a non linear way.

 

We developed the platform in collaboration with software developers, Lachlan Kermode and Franc Camps-Febrer.

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UNLESS is an agency for change devoted to interdisciplinary research on extreme environments threatened by the planetary crisis. Founded by architect Giulia Foscari in 2019, UNLESS is a non-profit organisation based in Venice, Italy.

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For more information, visit the open access platform here: https://antarctic-resolution.org/