Living on Site at ALMA

1 March, 2017 / Read time: 1 minute

Joint ALMA Observatory Radio Astronomer Dr. Violette Impellizzeri discusses the dormitory and cateen at the Operations Support Facility.

From initial construction in 2008 with the delivery of ALMA’s first antenna, staff and visitors lived and stayed in temporary containers in the base camp at the Operations Support Facility (OSF), the focal point of all antenna Assembly Integration Verification activities. In early 2015, work began on permanent ALMA Residencia. 

Given the harsh desert environment, remote location and shift work (both day and night) for the ALMA staff, the Residencia was designed to provide a pleasant on-site environment for staff and visitors who come from as many as 20 countries worldwide.

The shape of the buildings and the color of the exteriors of this major architectural project were designed to meld with the topography, the environment and the landscape of the ALMA site. The design was undertaken by the Finnish architects Kuovo & Partanen and was then adapted to the Chilean market by Rigotti & Simunovic Arquitectos, a Chilean firm of architects.

Credits: National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)