RAISING THE MODULES
To prevent the station being buried under the metre of snow that falls on the ice shelf each year, it has been designed to rise up with the accumulating snow. Each leg can be raised individually, enabling the snow to be packed under the foot of the raised leg using a bulldozer. Once this has been done under each of a module’s four legs, the entire module is raised. Flexible connections on the services running between modules ensure the services remain undamaged by the procedure. It is expected to take a week to raise the entire station.
concept, however, the station’s permanent location on a fl oating ice shelf – fl owing out to sea at the rate of 400m a year – meant that it had travelled so far from solid land that the ice shelf was in danger of ‘calving’ and the research station being cast adrift on an iceberg. For its sixth iteration, Aecom and Hugh Broughton Architects’ £26m station is based on eight linked, highly insulated modules, each mounted on four sturdy, hydraulically-extendable legs to enable the modules to climb out of the snow. To allow the station to be relocated, each of the 4.5m-high legs are mounted on skis to enable modules to be disconnected, towed inland and reconnected – a key difference from its predecessor.
The giant frozen centipede Halley VI comprises seven blue modules and a larger red pod strung out in a line across the ice like a giant frozen centipede. The red module is the heart of the station. This two storey, 470m2
pod is Halley VI
Ronne Ice Shelf
ANTARCTICA
Ross Ice Shelf
clad with vertical and inclined glazing and translucent silica-based insulation panels, providing a comfortable, communal space for cooking, group dining, recreation and socialising. Attached to the red pod’s northern side are three blue, 150m2 accommodation modules. On the southern side are the two life support modules, containing all the station’s M&E plant, along with the two science modules
housing its laboratories. These eight hermetically sealed pods are arrayed side- on to the prevailing wind to slow down the formation of drifts. In this arrangement, the wind-driven snow accumulates in long tails on the aerodynamically designed module’s leeward side, keeping the windward side clear for access. The perpendicular alignment also ensures the skis are scoured free of snow by the wind channelled beneath the modules. Up to 70 scientists will occupy the base
in the summer. In winter, the number will decrease to a skeleton staff of 16, who will remain confi ned to the station for up to 10 months a year. Technology is critical to the occupants’ survival in this unforgiving environment. The two life support modules house the bulk of the station’s plant, including six combined heat and power (CHP) units, water and sewage treatment plant, a sprinkler (misting) tank for fi re suppression and space for fuel storage. Each module has been designed with suffi cient capacity to service the station, so that if one is damaged by fi re, for example, the remaining unit is capable of keeping the station running.
The power of CHP The CHP units burn aviation fuel (AVTUR), which remains liquid at temperatures down to -47°C and provides
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CIBSE Journal April 2013
www.cibsejournal.com
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