While the majority of construction activity occurs in and around major urban areas to
provide housing, infrastructure and support economic growth, some buildings serve their
purpose by deliberately being as far away from the hustle and bustle as possible.
Seldom seen, barely known about and hardly ever visited, these are the world’s most
remote buildings.
Officially the smallest island in the world with a building on it, Bishops Rock is the
westernmost point of the Scilly archipelago and lies 70 kilometres from the closest major
town, Penzance, on the UK mainland.
With the rise of shipping between Britain and North America in the 19th century, numerous
vessels were becoming wrecked on the islands on the last leg of their journeys towards
Britain, prompting the construction of the lighthouse.
With works commencing in 1847, the original structure was planned to stand 37 metres (or
120 feet) tall on iron legs, however, the light was never lit on this tower as the building
was washed into the sea in 1850 before being commissioned.
Work on the current lighthouse began in 1851. This time the structure was built from granite,
painstakingly shipped out to the remote location.
The challenge of finding suitable terrain on such a small parcel of land meant that
the foundation stones had to be laid below the low water line.
To achieve this, the project team constructed a cofferdam around the site
and pumped the area dry, enabling works to proceed.
First lit in 1858, further strengthening works were carried out in 1881, encasing the original
tower in additional granite and raising its height to 49 metres.
With access via boat becoming increasingly difficult, a helipad was installed on the
lighthouse roof in 1976 – remaining in frequent use until the lighthouse was fully automated in 1992.
Tash Rabat – in the furthest reaches of Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn Province – served for
many centuries as a “caravanserai” or rest stop for traders making their way along
the silk road between Europe and Asia.
Believed to have originated as a monastery as far back as the 10th century, the structure
offered weary travellers’ safety and shelter as they made their perilous journeys between
the two continents.
Featuring 31 rooms and halls with domed shaped roofs, the entire structure is built from
crushed rock and clay sourced from the immediate surroundings.
Though unused today, the site can still be accessed by a lengthy horseback trek.
For those wanting to stay the night after such a journey, the site's caretakers offer accommodation
in traditional yurts nearby.
Nicknamed “The Doomsday Vault” the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen Island lies
1,300 kilometres from the North Pole and is one of the most remote buildings on Earth
for a very important reason.
The vault stores the seeds from gene banks around the world, ensuring their survival
and protecting global food supplies in the event of large-scale regional or global crisis.
Built by the Norwegian Government in 2008, the location was chosen specifically for its
remoteness, lack of tectonic activity and cool climate which helps to maintain the sub-zero
temperatures of the vault even in the event of a refrigeration malfunction.
The facility was constructed by boring into the side of the mountain through 120 metres of sandstone.
The vault’s positioning more than 130 metres above sea level ensures that
its contents will remain protected, even in the event of the polar ice caps melting.
With the bulk of the structure situated located inside the mountain, the only sign of the
facility at surface level is its impressive steel and concrete entrance which is topped
with an artistic installation of mirrors, prisms and optic fibres.
From the far North to the very far South of our planet, the Halley Antarctic Research
station is home to the British Antarctic Survey.
Named “The Sixth”, after five previous research facilities succumbed to the elements,
the current Halley base is designed to react to the hostile and ever-changing Antarctic
environment, greatly increasing its lifespan.
The facility consists of several modules laid out in a straight line and orientated perpendicular
to the prevailing winds.
This layout causes snow drifts to form on the leeward side, leaving
the windward side free from drifts, reducing snow management requirements. It also acts
to create a solid ice surface for vehicles to manoeuvre on.
The station’s modules are supported on large steel skis and hydraulic legs that allow them
to be raised as snow levels build and moved to alternative locations as necessary.
The base sits on the Brunt Ice Shelf; a 150-metre thick slab of ice that is steadily moving
400 meters closer to the sea each year.
Once ice reaches the edge of the shelf, it calves
off into the ocean creating icebergs.
As the Halley base moves closer to the edge of the shelf
over time, the modules can be lowered and towed by bulldozers to a new position further inland.
To build this state-of-the-art facility in such an inhospitable and remote location,
the modules were prefabricated off-site and test-assembled in South Africa before being
shipped to Antarctica.
Once there, the modules were offloaded and towed to the top of the ice shelf before final
assembly could occur.
Construction had to take place in Antarctica’s brief summer
periods which last a mere 3 months – and the scheme took 3 summers to complete, opening
in 2013.
Now complete, the Halley Research Station houses 52 researchers during the summer months
whilst 16 stay behind each year to ride out the continent’s extreme winter.
From one cold location to another, the Sphinx Observatory in the Swiss Alps is situated
3,571 metres above sea level and is the highest altitude construction project undertaken in Europe to date.
While the observatory is indeed remote, its construction was made possible by the near
20-year mission to conquer the Alps by rail and the opening of Europe's highest railway
station nearby in 1912.
This feat enabled the construction of the observatory, with materials and workers able
to be transported to within 100 metres of the site.
Since opening in 1937, the observatory has undergone numerous upgrades as technology
has progressed and is still a major research centre for astronomy, glaciology and meteorology.
The observatory offers tourists an opportunity to take in the view from “The Top of Europe”
and can be accessed from an elevator shaft bored through the mountain that links with the rail station.
In the depths of Chile’s Atacama Desert sits the breath-taking ESO Hotel.
Featuring prominently in the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, the hotel is not open
for public use and in fact, serves as accommodation for researchers
working at the European Southern Observatory.
Built to minimise its impact on the surrounding desert, the hotel lies within a natural depression
in the landscape with only its central garden dome visible on the horizon.
Constructed primarily with concrete – as brick and steel were deemed economically impractical
and did not fit with the desert context – the hotel offers 108 rooms, 18 offices, a sauna,
gardens, swimming pools and a library, the hotel has been nicknamed the “Oasis for Astronomers”.
Sitting at an altitude of 2,400 metres, and with less than 1 cm of rainfall each year,
tankers brought water to the site to mix the concrete during construction.
To this day the complex still relies on regular water deliveries to remain functional.
Dyed red to blend with its surroundings, the hotel’s concrete façade also provides significant
thermal mass, helping to regulate its internal climate throughout the extremes of the desert day.
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