Threshold Amplified: A Border Narrative Bound by Place + Time


Jorge Cornet, Adam Schroth & Thomas Soldiviero
Catholic University of America


David Dewane
Catholic University of America


This winning design illustrates a strong, aspirational concept. The project is extremely compelling and it would be exciting to work on the proof of concept for this design. The structure elegantly brings light down into this submerged port. Though a port in this location isn’t entirely necessary, this captivating design would draw people to the site. The drawings imply the use of steel for this building, yet the structural conception for project needs to be further fleshed out.


“After the race to South Pole had ended in December of 1911, Henry Shackleton, a polar explorer from Britain, had embarked on a voyage that would cross the continent of Antarctica from sea to sea. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. There followed a sequence of exploits, and an ultimate escape with no loss of human life.”

As we reflect on Shackleton’s heroic journey, and the transforming landscape of Antarctica, we seek to engage the role of a border crossing station as a point enabling contact amongst people + place. However, the lines of the map are not drawn as stiff here, as there are several territorial claims on the continent. In close proximity to where Shackleton’s vessel was beset is the intersection of disputed territorial claims recognized by the UK, Chile, and Argentina with access to research stations nearby, becoming ever more prominent as the impacts of global warming grow more pressing. This is the context in which we have decided to work, in-between water + ice, light + dark, and bound by Place and Time.