I read about the Global Seed Vault last year in Wired, but it wasn’t until recently that I saw a real photo of the place and how amazing it is! To make a long story short, the Seed Vault is a giant store house with over 10,000 seeds and plant material. The reason for this bio-bank is to “provide a safety net against accidental loss o diversity in traditional genebanks”. Basically it’s a giant vault of plant life, so that plants that could be important to us in the future don’t die out or go extinct.

The Seed Vault is located on a Norewgian island called Spitsbergen, which is only 700 miles from the North Pole. The reason they built the vault in such a barren frosty location is three-fold. The first reason is that it has a relatively low amount of tectonic activity, so no earthquakes, which a lot of other genebanks could possibly be damaged by. The second is that the average temperature of the sandstone mountain that the vault was built in is 30º F. The seeds are cooled down to a temperature of -0 to -20º F, so even if the power went out, the seeds would be okay for at least weeks. The final reason is that the location is 430 feet above sea level, so even if global warming occurs, and the oceans begin to rise, the seeds will be safe.

But no matter how important and immense this project is, how effing cool is the building itself?! Could you imagine randomly coming across it in the middle of this island and thinking, “There are modern design loving aliens hanging out around here?!” I think it’s totally beautiful, and I love how narrow and simple it looks. I’m sure it’s a much prettier site than just some random concrete bunker.

Check out some cross-sections of the building under the cut.

Bobby

7 Comments »

1. It makes me think of Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, but I’m not sure why.

   Comment by palazzo — March 3, 2008 #

2. It is definitely a very cool structure (no pun intended) and certainly for a worthwhile effort. Am surprised, however, that if power goes out, the sucker can only keep things going for a few weeks. They should have spoken to the heads behind the Long Now Foundation in SF about their Millennium Clock. One would think this type of facility should be designed to continue on in the event of a major catastrophe — something wherein boatloads of humans kick the bucket — and where you may have no electricity ever again from any human-powered means.

   Comment by Anthony Baker — March 3, 2008 #

3. Wikipedia says:

   “Prior to construction, a feasibility study determined that the vault could preserve seeds from most major food crops for hundreds of years. Some seeds, including those of important grains, could survive far longer, possibly thousands of years.”

   So there you go.

   Comment by Bobby S. — March 3, 2008 #

4. Well if I see this kind of structure in the middle of an icy abandoned space, I will think I am in a kind of Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass re-created world.

   Comment by Angele — March 4, 2008 #

5. Sweet.

   Well, should the world end, Im headed north.

   Um, unless the whole Day After Tomorrow thing happens and the north freezes ass-cold. Then it’s south.

   Comment by Anthony Baker — March 4, 2008 #

6. If only architects in LA can be inspired by this building. We would have cooler looking buildings being built in the city.

   Comment by Albert Loya — March 6, 2008 #

7. […] The Svalbard Global Seed Vault [Kitsune Noir via blackbeltjones] 700 miles from the north pole, 430 feet above sea level and sunk into the side of a frozen mountain resides over 10,000 plant seeds. Just in case we fuck it all up. (tags: architecture biodiversity) « links for 2008-05-29 […]

   Pingback by links for 2008-06-02 « Derivadow.com — June 2, 2008 #

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