The World's Most Remote Buildings

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 [Music] officially the smallest island in the world with a building on it bishops Rock is the westernmost point of the silly 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's 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 waterline to achieve this the project team constructed a coffer dam around the site and pumped the area dry enabling work 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 boats becoming increasingly difficult a helipad was installed on the lights house roof in 1976 remaining in frequent use until the lighthouse was fully automated in 1992 - rabat in the farthest reaches of kerja stands near in Provence served for many centuries as a caravanserai or rest stopped 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 travelers safety and shelter as they made their perilous journeys between the two continents featuring 31 rooms and halls with don't shape 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 thus far barred global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen island lies 1,300 kilometers 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 crises built by the Norwegian government in 2008 the location was specifically chosen for its remoteness lack of tectonic activity and cool climates 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 a hundred and twenty meters of sandstone the vaults 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 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 fibers from the far north to the very far south of our planets the Halley Antarctic research station is home to the British Antarctic Survey named vi after five previous research bases 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 snowdrifts 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 maneuver 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 move to alternative locations as necessary the base sits on the brunt ice shelf in a 150 meter thick slab of ice that is steadily moving 400 meters closer to the sea each year once I streets the edge of the shelf it carves off into the ocean creating icebergs as the Halley base moves closer to the edge of the shelf over time its 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 tests assembled in South Africa before being shipped to Antarctica once there the modules were offloaded and toes to the top of the ice shelf where final assembly could occur construction had to take place in Antarctica's brief summer periods which last a mere three months and the scheme took three summers to complete opening in 2013 now operational the Haley research station houses 52 researchers during the summer months whilst 16 stay behind each year to ride out the continents extreme winter from one cold location to another the Sphinx Observatory in the Swiss Alps is situated 3571 metres above sea level and is the highest altitude construction projects 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 a hundred 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 bore through the mountain that links with the rail station in the depths of Chile's Atacama Desert sits the breathtaking 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 minimize 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 a hundred and eight rooms eighteen offices a sauna gardens pools and a library and has been nicknamed the oasis for astronomers sitting at an altitude of 2,400 meters and with less than one centimeter 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 in with its surroundings the hotel's concrete facade also provides significant thermal mass helping to regulate its internal climate throughout the extremes of the desert day if you enjoyed this video I would like to get more from the definitive video channel for construction subscribe to the b1m [Music]

Channel: The B1M

Views: 7,681,046

Keywords: BIM, B1M, TheB1M, Construction, architecture, engineering, building, remote, remote buildings, bishops rock lighthouse, lighthouse, scilly isles, tash rabat, antarctica, halley vi research station, research station, observatory, eso hotel, james bond, 007, quantum of solace, eso, european southern observatory, kyrgyzstan, uk, britain, united kingdom, norway, doomsday vault, sphinx, sphinx observatory, switzerland, Fred Mills, Daniel Craig

Id: wGS53t8ZbO8

Length: 10min 45sec (645 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 21 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Kruga_]

Construction had to take place in Antarctica's brief summer periods, which last a mere three months

But summer is 3 months everywhere.

[u/espentan]

The Svalbard seed vault is like a 4 minute drive from the airport and 10 minutes from the city of Longyearbyen. Very remote /s

[u/AtoxHurgy]

These locations are beautiful. I really like the central Asian one. I never seen rolling hills like that.

[u/poillord]

This clip has a clear British/European bias.

There are much more isolated research stations in Antarctica like Amundsen-Scott or Vostok, which are much further inland. Why focus on Halley which is right on the coast?

There are more isolated observatories/telescopes like the Very Large Array in New Mexico or the McDonald observatory in Texas. Why focus on some observatory right next to a train station in Switzerland?

If someone is goes to put the effort into making a video like this in an attempt to broaden other people’s horizons they could at least broaden theirs.

[u/_Chip_Douglas_]

Remote as in far away not as in automated... I’m an idiot

[u/Mekroval]

Amazing and informative video. And not click-baity like a lot of "facts" or top 10 videos popping up on YouTube. The Antarctic research station was the most interesting to me, from an engineering perspective. Makes me think of a lunar or Martian outpost.

[u/[deleted]]

That was amazing, thank you.

[u/[deleted]]

The one in the Swiss Alps is so remote it’s attached to a train station

[u/[deleted]]

It's funny... I've only seen Quantum of Solace once when it first came out, and I don't remember anything from it other than being a bit disappointed after Casino Royale set the bar so high. So I haven't thought of that movie in at least 10 years.

The second I saw that Chilean desert hotel, my mind went "Hey, that's the thingy from Quantum of Solace!". Guess that movie had more of an impact than I thought.