Continued...
It also had to be delivered in sections for
assembly on site and, when completed, suitable to be towed over uneven ground
without damage or distortion.
It has now been re-located several times and
continues to function well. The skids, have a special low-friction coating, and
air-bags are used to break the bond between the skis and the ice before starting
to move the building.
The unit was designed to provide accommodation for
30 people on two levels, with the ground floor housing cooking and dining areas,
clothing and food storage, toilets, laundry and the plant room, while the
bedrooms are on the first floor. The internal temperature can be maintained
between 17°C and 20°C, despite external temperatures between -55°C and +5°C.
Because of the difficulty of working outdoors in
the Antarctic, ease of assembly without use of special tools was essential, and
no single item could weigh more than 1500kg. It also had to be virtually
maintenance-free because of the cost of delivering spare parts and materials to
the base. The target time for assembly, fitting-out and commissioning was set by
the British Antarctic Survey as 14 days, with some 24 hour working possible.
Before the building was packed for shipping, it
was fully assembled and approved by the BAS. It was first used during the
1994-95 season.
Photographs supplied by the
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge - www.bas.ac.uk
For more information, contact us on
01709-373782
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