Living in a centipede on the Antarctic ice

Steel skis support the centipede-shaped prefabricated base. Picture / Reuters

Antarctic scientists will soon be living in a futuristic building that looks more like a Moon base than a terrestrial research centre.

Britain's planned Halley research station - the sixth since 1957 - is designed to withstand temperatures of minus 56C and wind speeds of 145 km/h.

The prefabricated unit will be able to move, too - it stands on steel skis and can be towed further inland if the moving ice shelf on which it rests threatens to fall into the sea. It can also be jacked up on its steel legs to prevent it being buried by snowstorms.

Yet the spectacular structure will have a down-to-earth role when it is finally completed for use in four years. Instead of searching for life on other planets, the British Antarctic Survey's new centre will be used to study climate change and the ozone layer.

Up to 52 scientists can live in the base during the summer, with a crew of 16 being able to inhabit it through the long Antarctic winter when there is total darkness for 55 consecutive days.

The station will be precariously located on the 150m-thick floating Brunt Ice Shelf.

"Unlike the current research station, this one is built on skis and can be towed to safety if it gets too close to the edge of the ice shelf for comfort," says Professor Chris Rapley, director of the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge.

The designers, Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects, won the competition for the 19 million ($34 million) station on the grounds of cost and being able to satisfy all necessary technical and scientific requirements.

Each mechanical leg of the Halley VI station can be jacked up to allow engineers to pack ice and snow underneath each "foot". This means the entire station can be raised to prevent it from being buried in snow and ice - the fate of four previous Halley stations.

A key feature of the winning design is the low impact the station should have on the pristine Antarctic environment. It is designed to be energy-efficient, and even the human sewage will be dried and incinerated rather than dumped under the snow.

Peter Ayres, project director of Faber Maunsell, says one of the goals was to ensure the station complied fully with the Antarctic Treaty on the Environment.

"Each highly insulated module incorporates low energy and sustainable principles to help to reduce the station's environmental impact. When it comes to eventual decommissioning, the station can be easily moved and taken apart. We consider Halley VI to be a visitor to Antarctica, not a resident."

The station consists of two platforms - north and south - each with six interconnected modules that house bedrooms, an observation lounge and research laboratories.

A special central module will be the social focus of the station, with a dining room, spaces for recreational activities such as pool and table-tennis, a gym, sauna, hydrotherapy bath and music room.

A helical staircase will take the residents to an upper deck where there will be a TV lounge, library and offices. In the long, dark winter months the window blinds of this atrium will be illuminated by coloured lights designed to emulate the changing daylight of a more temperate latitude.

Lettuces and other edible plants will be grown hydroponically in this area to provide crews with the refreshing sight of greenery, as well as supplying them with three fresh salads a week.

A "colour psychologist" has been consulted over the interior decor to help avert midwinter blues.

Hugh Broughton, the architect, says several factors were taken into consideration, such as the residents' comfort, the scientific experiments that have to be carried out, and the ease with which the station can be shipped and assembled in situ.

The station is scheduled to be running within four years.

Britain's new Antarctic research base will include:

* A gym, sauna, table-tennis and pool tables, TV lounge.

* Lighting that emulates changing daylight during the long Antarctic night.

* Fresh lettuces and other greens, grown hydroponically.

* Skis so the entire base can be moved to a new site.

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