Construction Seasons Begin at Antarctic Research Hub

A 20-person-plus team is working on the second season of building a new science and operations building located in Antarctica.

Construction can only take place during a short window during the Antarctic summer months, avoiding the harsh, dark winter. This season, the team aims to complete the pre-cast concrete foundations, ground floor slab, rock anchors and stub columns, as well as drainage and the perimeter wall, before returning in December to complete the outer structure.

The scientific support facility, named the Discovery Building, commemorates the discovery of Antarctica just over 200 years ago. Facilities in the new two-story 4,500-square-meter building include preparation areas for field expeditions, offices, a medical center, recreational spaces (music room and climbing wall) and science workshops.

The Discovery Building has a unique design, consisting of a thermally efficient envelope to minimize energy use, along with heat recovery generators and photovoltaic solar panels. It also has a snow and wind deflector – the largest of its kind in Antarctica – to minimize time spent removing snow accumulation from around the building.

Bright, open-plan offices foster collaboration and improve health and well-being of staff living in remote locations. Roof lights increase natural light and reduce the effects of seasonal affective disorder.

The project is delivered by the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme partnership, which includes construction partner BAM and its team, design consultants Sweco, Hugh Broughton Architects, and Ramboll acting as BAS’s technical advisers, with their team NORR architects and Turner & Townsend.

Find out more at: https://www.bas.ac.uk/polar-operations/antarctic-infrastructure-projects/.