Arctic Pavilion Will Let Visitors Witness Climate Change First-Hand

From record-breaking heat waves to rising sea levels, the effects of climate change are already being felt around the world. The region where this is most evident is the Arctic. Now Dezeen reports that an architecture firm has plans to build a center far up north, where citizens and scientists will be able to observe the impact of climate change on an ancient glacier that is perhaps 250,000 years old.

The Icefjord Centre, designed by architects at the Danish firm Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter, will be located 150 miles inside the Arctic Circle at Ilulissat, a UNESCO-protected site on Greenland's west coast. Once complete, visitors will be able to appreciate the surroundings from both inside and on top of the structure. "The wooden framework, designed as a truss, bridges the rugged landscape," Dorte Mandrup says on their website. "It floats lightly above it, curving out over the edge of the Sermermiut Valley, offering the spectacular, undisturbed view through the valley and to the ice fjord." 

The building will act as a resource for researchers studying glacial ice. Tourists and locals will also be able to visit the center to learn more about the Icefjord while taking in its natural beauty.

Scientists have been studying climate change for centuries, but a pavilion built specifically for this purpose is more relevant now than ever before. By the time the center opens in the fall of 2020, the Ilulissat Icefjord will be especially precious.

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