The British Antarctic Survey has chosen an environmentally friendly portable design for its new Halley VI research station. The winning design was chosen from a shortlist of three contenders.
The modular station, created by engineering group Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects, will be built on the floating Brunt ice shelf in the Antarctic.
The new base will be elevated on jackable ski-mounted legs to allow it to be moved if part of the ice sheet near the structure breaks off.
Raising the height will prevent it from being buried in snow, and it must also withstand temperatures down to -40°C and 80mph winds.
The design will be based on two platforms, each with six interconnected modules.
The station, which will study climate change, will use renewable energy sources and the latest technologies to process waste.
The current Halley V base is at risk of being lost to the ice within the next decade.
Halley VI will begin construction in January 2007 with handover to the British Antarctic Survey scheduled for December 2008.
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