Construction ‘first’ for Antarctic research station

Construction has begun in Antarctica for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) with specialists arriving at Rothera Research Station and, in a first for the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme (AIMP), some of the construction team along with BAS team members will be working through the Antarctic winter.

Known as ‘wintering’, eight construction team members will be stationed at Rothera for seven months during Antarctica’s winter season from May through to November, in which some periods are spent in 24-hour darkness, with harsh polar weather.

“For the first time during the modernisation programme, some members of our team will be wintering at Rothera; experiencing something that very few people in the world can say that they have done. We’re immensely proud of their commitment and are excited to see us approaching the final stages of the Discovery Building as well as progressing key elements of our other projects,” said Elen Jones, Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme Director at the British Antarctic Survey.

The season will see the team take further steps towards completion of Rothera’s science and operations facility – the Discovery Building – as much of the mechanical and electrical installation and internal fit-out is delivered. Across the next six months, teams will also be installing windows, completing flashings and finalising most of the cross-site utility works.

During the upcoming season, teams will commence the critical work to resurface Rothera’s runway, which has been in operation for over 30 years. The runway resurfacing work will maintain safe flying operations in and out of Rothera to guarantee field science operations for UK and international scientists and is expected to be completed by Spring 2024.

There are over 100 construction specialists working on the project this season, with around a third of the team returning from previous years. The team consists of civil and structural engineers, as well as mechanical and electrical trades for the internal fit-out of the new building.

BAS has commissioned a team of its scientists to conduct a comprehensive pre-construction environmental baselining survey for an infrastructure project. The findings from this survey will become an important part of informing future work in the region as the AIMP team and BAS scientists continue to work together to deliver solutions.

The programme is delivered in partnership with BAM, Ramboll and Sweco. Since 2017, BAS has utilised the expertise and knowledge of the partners, and their extended supply chains, to ensure the success of delivering complex engineering solutions in the world’s harshest environment.

Read what it is like to build in Antarctica with our exclusive interview with David Brand, senior project manager, BAS, and Robert Kerr, project manager and site agent, BAM, about the project and working in such unforgiving conditions.