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Architects: balbek bureau
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Slava Balbek
Text description provided by the architects. Kyiv-based studio balbek bureau created an art project for the Vernadsky Research Base in Antarctica. The ‘Home. Memories’ installation located on the island of Galindez is inspired by the image of a traditional Ukrainian house.
The project was commissioned by the National Antarctic Research Center and implemented with the support of the Silpo retail chain. The construction was handled by the Wonder Workshop bureau.
In November 2021, balbek bureau was tasked to repurpose a defunct fuel tank at the Ukrainian Vernadsky (former British Faraday) research base. The installation, intended as a visual treat for the station staff and tourists, had to be easily assembled, resistant to severe weather conditions, and safe for more than 3,500 penguins living on the island.
Envisioning the station as a ‘home away from home’ for the polar researchers, the architects designed an installation based on a composite image of a Ukrainian rural house. A thin detailed frame around the tank resembles a pencil sketch: as if someone, reminiscing, draws their childhood home from memory.
To accompany the installation, balbek bureau created a mini exposition with souvenirs from Ukraine, including a sample of the UNESCO-listed Kosiv painted ceramics and a lump of coal from the Donetsk region embedded in resin. The exhibition was later expanded with the help of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
The disassembled structure was delivered to the Vernadsky base in the spring of 2022, but the mounting was postponed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In February 2023, balbek bureau’s CEO, architect Slava Balbek and the Wonder Workshop head Dmytro Zinoviev headed to Antarctica and completed the project.
