It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the most inhospitable place on Earth: Antarctica.

The experience was indescribable.

It is a fierce and inhospitable climate, but it is easy to see why this vast, icy wilderness is such a powerful source of inspiration for architects and designers.

In such starkness there is an interplay of extreme colors juxtaposed sky and sea, and also a subtle softness in the mixed textures of hardened snow and etched ice. It lingers with you — the colors, the sounds, the rugged wildness.

Since returning home to Austin, I’m reminded everyday of Antarctica’s impact, both aesthetically and socially on the world around us.