Polaris Harborfront Center

Polaris Harborfront Center
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General information
Location	Polaris Capitol District
Type	Capitol
Style	High-tech architecture
Address	2 Capitol Avenue
Owner(s)	Federal Republic of Polaris
Started	January 2, 2000
Completed	December 19,2004
Height	1,595 ft.
Architect	KTL/Partners
Status	Complete

The Polaris Harborfront Center is the seat of the government of the Federal Republic of Polaris, and the home of the Legislative Congress of Polaris, as well as several departments and agencies of the government. The Polaris Harborfront Center is presently the largest office building in Antarctica by total floor space, containing 21 million sq. feet of office space. The Polaris Harborfront Center is located in the Polaris Capitol District, a 3.5 sq. mile piece of reclaimed land located at the tip of Polaris Island.

The Polaris Harborfront Center was designed by Kai-Tak Lee and Partners (KTL/Partners), the largest architectural firm in the Federal Republic of Polaris. Ground broke on the site on January 2nd, 2000, and was officially dedicated on December 19, 2004; three weeks ahead of schedule. The building itself is noted as the most expensive project, costing $41.259 billion, 66% of which was footed by a consortium of donors, including the Kratz and Monte Captio families.

On a daily basis, 66,850 persons work at the Polaris Harborfront Center; the largest employer being the Polarian Department of Defense, having 17,575 workers. The building is estimated to have more than 35 miles of corridors, and has approximately 296 elevators (including 44 double-decker elevators) , and 115 stairwells for transport.

The office building also produces its own electricity, through a melange of the OneCell System, which uses phosphoric acid cells, providing up to 9.75 million watts of power. Solar cells have also been installed on the roofs of the east, central and west towers, producing an additional 2.25 million watts of power. The ultra-clear glass used for the windows at the Polaris Harborfront Center allows for more sunlight to illuminate office spaces. Lights in office spaces are also equipped with automatic dimmers, reducing energy consumption by the building. Unlike the predecessors to the Polaris Harborfront Center, the building is heated through steam.

History

Planning and construction

The need for a new capitol was first acknowledged by several Polarian lawmakers in response to the debilitated structure of the 70-story Connery Square Hall, completed by the Kingfish regime in 1929. A 1989 report by the former District Assembly of Polaris stated that there was an urgent need to replace the decrepit building of Connery Square Hall, located 1/4 mile east from the Polaris Harborfront Center. The estimated $125 million ($189.55 million in 2010) expense for the needed renovations of Polaris' capitol was turned down by the cash-strapped government of the Water Kingdom. Though the 70-story building aimed to play host to 75% of the government departments of the Polarian District. Due to the increasing size of the Polarian population, the 70-story skyscraper was not able to sustain the over 5,000 new government workers, which forced the Polarian government to purchase a nearby 55-story skyscraper fpr $757 million, nearly bankrupting the Polarian government in 1995.

Though the Polarian government had been rescued out of its debt by the Water Kingdom for $22 billion, Polarian politicans continued to express resentment for the purchase, and affirmed their intention to create a new capitol for Polaris. As the Polarian economy boomed throughout the early 1990s, and into the early 2010s, the new Federal Republic of Polaris, forged out of the District of Polaris. Sancho Monte Captio, a member of the politically and financially powerful Monte Captio family, who was elected Mayor of Polaris in 2000, had agreed with then EAC President Michael Dane to cede 4.2 sq. miles of empty city-owned public port land to the federal government in order to create the new capital.

KTL/Partners, was awarded the contract to design the building, through a continent-wide design contest held from June 1996 o November 1996. Kratz-Monroe Construction was also commissioned by the Polarian government in order to build the tower. The tower commenced construction in January of 1997, and was to finish in January of 2000, two months ahead of schedule. However, it had taken 25 months for all government offices to be transitioned into the building, due to logistics discrepancies and relocation of furniture and materials to the new offices.

Architecture

Considered an engineering marvel, even in the early 21st century, the Polaris Harborfront Center rises to 1,595 ft. to its roof height, and unlike other tall structures, does not feature a spire or broadcasting attena or lightning rod. The tower features 110 stories, and has one sky lobby located on the 60th floor. The Polaris Harborfront Center possesses over 16,875 windows, which take up to two months to clean. The building also has 35 miles of corridors combined, and also has more than 29,000 miles of cables. The Harborfront Center, also has the capability to land 8 VTOL aircraft simulateneously, which is able to evacuate all essential government members at one time. The harborfront center is also cladded with marble and limestone panels, but incorporates aluminum at the bottom floor of the tower. The building also possesses its own postal code, and features a mail sorting room on the 43rd floor.

The building is currently considered to be the largest office complex within all of Antarctica, and is not expected to be overtaken within the next two decades. The building was constructed in the postmodern style of architecture, common since the early 1970s, and is still employed in several new developments across the continent. More than 67,000 workers commute to the building daily, and is serviced by its own subway station (Polaris Capitol-Haborfront), and also has one of the largest parking garages in the continent, having 5,768 underground parking garages, and a 37,545 space parking garage located next to the building itself, and is 8 stories high. The parking lot is connected to the building's lower concourse and shopping center, and also has a skybridge connecting to the second level of the parking deck from the lobby of the Polaris Harborfront Center.

Interior

Atrium

The lobby of the Harborfront Center contains twenty-two security checkpoints reserved for government employees and workers, operated by the Department of Defense, and contains a seven-story atrium and galleria, known as the Liberty Atrium; adorned with a variety of flora, notably the palmetto trees and shrubs located inside the atrium. On the ground floor of the atrium are food and retail stores, ranging from private-owned, high-end clothiers, to ticketing offices for major airlines, totaling to approximately twenty-five stores as of January 2013, as well as entrances to ground-level administrative offices and underground parking levels. A tapestry of tempered-glass pedestrian skyways connect corridors and offices of the several floors above the atrium, as well as 55 elevators which exist throughout certain points in the atrium itself.

The Liberty Atrium is best known for its murals, friezes and art displays, and its practice of implementing the usage of Latin words, which are used to exemplify the characteristics and values of the Polarian state as it is, "Semper pro omnibus", a phrase coined by University of South Pole City professor John Lilliano Mallen, epitomizing the tolerance, tenacity and resolve of the Polarian government and its people. The atrium possesses a circular centrum, possessing an ornate fountain, embellished with the Statue of Progress, a 57.5 foot tall, copper and marble statue created by renowned Enderby artist Kala M. Darianas. The atrium acts as an arterial route for workers headed to; between and from offices, for it divides the buildings in two.

Offices

The floors above, and adjacent to the atrium are predominantly utilized for the offices of the mainline operations of the several departments of the federal government of Polaris, ranging from the largest tenant, the Department of Defense, which occupies over 30 floors, to the Department of Agriculture and Food, occupying a mere four floors. The offices are noted to have a quite minimalistic, employing the use of tempered and frosted glass throughout the office spaces, and is home to over 74,105 computers and 1100 televisions to feed Internet access, communications, and television access to over 67,000 workers. State-of-the-art technology allows for meeting rooms to make glass opaque for private meetings, extremely secure telephone calls and one of the fastest Internet connections available within the continent.

From the 85th to 106th floors are the private, executive offices of the 590 legislators of the Legislative Congress of Polaris, who occupy a combined 30 floors for their office spaces, which have seven committee hearing rooms, used for meetings for congressional committees, three dedicated to each chaber of Congress, and one being interchangable with either chamber. The 590 office spaces are 5,500 sq. feet each, and have cubicles equipped for 15 staff, a chief-of-staff and the Congressional delegate. Each office is given a kitchenette with a fridge, dishwasher and microwave oven, as well as bathrooms for each of the offices.

Between the 107th and 108th floors are the Executive Administrative Council offices, which house the private offices of the associate members of the Executive Administrative Council, the Vice President of the EAC and the President of the EAC. The offices of each associate member are double that of the size of a Congressional office, at 15,000 sq. feet each. The offices bear much of the same amenities as seen in the aforementioned offices, however, each office was expanded to include a private 16-seat meeting room with several advanced communication technologies, including secure videoconferencing. In addition to a 16-seat meeting room, there is a receptionist, thrity-two cubicle positions, three smaller private offices; reserved for upper staff of each Associate Member, and a 565 sq. ft. private executive office for the Associate member. All of the associate members' offices are positioned on the 107th floor.

Mercantile Manor

The Mercantile Manor is situated on the 107th floor of the building, and occupies the entirety of the 107th floor. Though not considered an official residence for the President of the Executive Administrative Council, it is mostly considered the official office for the both the Vice President and President. The Mercantile Manor is namesake of a name suggestion by the Polarian Harbor Commission, as the site of the PHC occupies the old placement of the Polarian Mercantile Manor, which had regulated the flow of commerce throughout the ports of Polaris during the 19th and mid-20th centuries. The Manor is among the most exquisite offices throughout the building, and is decorated in a modern, yet colonial style, a tribute to the building's past history. The floor is also known for its grandiose ballroom, known to host several functions for high officials of the Polarian government yearly.

The 107th floor contains the offices of the Vice President, whose office space is 23,300 sq. ft, and is staffed by sixty-four employees, a 30-seat meeting room, and a security operations room. The Vice President's office is located on the west side of the building, and is accessed through a highly-secured elevator and staircases. The Vice President's office is separated from the President's section by a rather wide, ornate corridor. The President's office occupies a majority of the remainder of the spaces located on the 107th floor. The Media Press Briefing Room is situated adjacent to the Presidential office, and has ninety-two designated media positions; which allows for 2 correspondents and a modern, computerized workstation, a media broadcast and camera dais, and occupies 3,015 sq. ft, and the venue for the delivery of daily press reports and conferences by the President, as well as his staff.

The President's office, on the other hand, is among the largest office facilities in the building, housing 225 workers, and several rooms.

Tenants

Floors	Tenants
Lower Concourse	McDoodle's, Snowbucks, Fisch and Chips, Burger Khan, Eastshield Fried Fish, Frys Chalet, BambooExpress, QiWi Coffee, Myrios Mediterreanian, Denario's Restaurant, Denali Peak
Upper Concourse	Bartley, Dulce & Leche, Janice Friar, R.K. Sherrian, SkyJet Airways, Dili International, Cirrus, Ardenia & Co., La Playa, Offenheimer
Lobby	Transpolar, Polaris Dept. of Police,
1-6	Department of Transport
7-12	Department of Public Works and Infrastructure
13-16, 18-40	Department of Defense
40-46	Department of Health and Education
47-52	Department of State
52-57	Department of Economic Affairs and Commerce
59-60	Sky Lobby, The Traveler's Bar & Grill
60-69	Department of Finance
70-74	Department of Agriculture and Food
75-82	Department of the Environment and Utilities
82-85	Chambers of the Senate and the Assembly of Representatives,
85-92	Senate Offices
92-105	Assembly of Representatives Offices
106-107	Executive Administrative Council Offices and Chamber
108	Observation Deck, Le Mistral Restaurant and Bar
16-17,41,59,109-110	Mechanical floors

Security

The Polaris Harborfront Center Police provides security for the building and it's grounds. Their main offices are on the 87th floor with a sign marked "Police Central Office". However they have a sub office on every floor, each of which has 16-19 officers assigned to it. All of the agency's 254 members are sworn police officers and can arrest people. Special units include: Prisoner Transport Division-15 officers responsible for taking anyone arrested in the Center to the Polaris City Jail. They have 3 paddywagons.

Special Response Unit-In the Federal Republic of Polaris SWAT teams or ESUs are called as "Special Response Units". They respond to shootings, suicides, mass killings, riots, and other incidents that involve fighting on the grounds of the Center.

Chamber Unit-Stands by in the two houses of the Polarian legislature. There are two officers in each chamber. This is the smallest special unit.

There is also a 9-member investigation unit for all crimes committed in the Polaris Harborfront Center which often works with the Polaris City Police Department, the Federal County Sheriff's Department, the National Intelligence Bureau, the Polaris Federal Police, and other agencies.