Which group built the hatch research station in Lost?

The DHARMA Initiative built the hatch research station in Lost. The hatch was formally known as The Swan, one of several scientific facilities constructed around the island.

DHARMA was a fictional research organization founded in 1970 by University of Michigan doctoral candidates Gerald and Karen DeGroot and funded by Alvar Hanso. Its researchers investigated subjects including meteorology, psychology, zoology, parapsychology, electromagnetism, and other fringe sciences.

The Swan was built over a powerful electromagnetic pocket. After DHARMA drilling released dangerous energy, the station’s function changed: its occupants were ordered to enter a computer code at regular intervals to regulate the anomaly. This history explains why the hatch looked like a living bunker rather than an ordinary laboratory.

The station is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the Others because they later occupied or used several DHARMA facilities. However, the Others did not build the original network. The DHARMA Initiative constructed the stations before its members were killed or driven out during the Purge.