هيو بروتون المعماريين هالي

HALLEY VI ANTARCTIC RESEARCH STATION

source: hbarchitects

Our international competition winning design for the self-sufficient scientific research base is now operational on a floating ice shelf 900 miles from South Pole. Hydraulically elevated ski based modules respond to annually rising snow levels and the need to relocate the base if the site calves off as an iceberg. A special central module provides a dramatic open plan social area at the heart of the station. The project demonstrates our ability to create world-class sustainable design to awesome technical criteria.

Halley is the most southerly research station operated by the British Antarctic Survey and is located 10,000 miles from the UK on the 150-metre thick floating Brunt Ice Shelf, which moves 400 metres per annum towards the sea. Snow levels rise by over 1 metre every year and the sun does not rise above the horizon for 105 days during winter. Temperatures drop to -56C and the site can be buffeted by winds in excess of 100 mph. Access by ship and plane is limited to a 3-months window. Materials and components required to construct the new base have to be delivered across fragile sea ice, which can fracture at any time.

International design competition
Whilst the current base, Halley V, continues to operate effectively, a significant calving of the ice shelf is predicted within the next decade, which would see it floating out to sea as a giant iceberg. As a result, in 2004, a 3-stages international competition was launched for the design of a new, fully relocatable base for 16 people in the winter and 52 in the summer. The competition attracted 86 entries from around the world. In July 2005 Hugh Broughton Architects, working with AECOM, were selected as winners.

Concept = modular
The design has been developed in response to the demands of the science, the comfort of the residents, buildability and the operations inherent in the life of a research station. To meet these demands it is crucial to create a design, which maximises flexibility. This is achieved with a modular approach. Modularity brings significant benefits in terms of flexibility, ease of construction, maintenance, relocation, fire safety, acoustics and robustness. The station is centred on two modular platforms. The northern platform provides the principal habitat. The southern platform contains science modules.

Central module = heart of Halley VI
Whilst the majority of activities that take place at Halley can be provided for using the standard blue module, there are some activities, which are constant, and require a distinct approach. These activities are housed in a special red central module. This is the principal space for eating, drinking and recreation and is the major destination at the new base.

Sustainability at the core
Halley VI is the most environmentally friendly facility that BAS has built. Low on environmental impact during construction, with an extremely efficient, environmentally aware performance life cycle, it can be easily moved and eventually taken apart when the time comes. Halley VI will be a visitor to Antarctica, not a resident. The buildings rest entirely on the surface of the ice shelf. This mobility and flexibility means that the new station will survive and perform on the ice for far longer than any of its distinguished predecessors. The design provides flexibility for the station to be adapted, rearranged and relocated.

Designed for self-preservation
To avoid the fate of previous abandoned stations, the modules are supported on giant steel skis and hydraulically driven legs. The hydraulic legs allow the station to mechanically “climb” up out of the snow every year to avoid being buried. And as the ice shelf moves out towards the ocean, the modules can be lowered onto the skis and towed by bulldozers to a new safer location further inland. The new Halley VI can therefore continue to respond to the changing needs of Antarctic science for many more years than its projected design life.

An icon to world class science
Linked together, the ski based jackable modules create a dramatic new station, which propels Antarctic design into the 21st Century. 100 years after Scott and Shackleton built their timber huts on this frozen continent, Halley VI provides the first ever relocatable modular research station, introducing the very best accommodation for both living and working. The station is packed with stimulating areas for recreation, relaxation and allows total flexibility for growth and change. It sets a new benchmark in design for extreme environments, it is a beacon for sustainable living and an icon to draw attention to some of the most significant and influential science conducted on our planet today.

Halley VI has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Index: Award’, an international award that recognises designs of worldwide stature. Construction of the new station has finished and Halley VI is fully operational.

Location
Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Dates
2005 – 2012

Project team
Hugh Broughton Architects
AECOM (multi disciplinary engineers)
Colour Effects (colour psychologist)
Galliford Try (main contractor)
7-t (CGI visuals)

Awards
Index: Award 2007 – Top Nomination
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source: livingsteelorgbr

A Hugh Broughton Architects tem experiência na criação de projetos arquitetônicos para climas extremos. A firma projetou duas estações de pesquisa na Antártida, a estação britânica de pesquisas em Halley, e a Base Espanhola na Antártida, na Ilha de Livingstone.

Os trabalhos de construção na Antártida ficam limitados a apenas três meses por ano. Todos os materiais têm de ser despachados de locais situados a milhares de quilômetros e, em seguida, transportados através de frágeis camadas de gelo por mar ou por mar revolto, até o canteiro de obras. Os projetos da firma maximizam o uso de componentes pré-fabricados e introduzem conceitos e tecnologias de uma ampla gama de indústrias para resolver os desafios oferecidos por ambientes inóspitos.

A sustentabilidade está no coração dos trabalhos da Hugh Broughton Architects. No setor de habitação, o escritório fez bom uso de sua abordagem sustentável no interior da Escócia, para onde foi projetada uma comunidade com nível zero de emissão de carbono.

Hugh Broughton fundou a Hugh Broughton Architects em 1995. Anteriormente, havia trabalhado para a Troughton McAslan e para a Manser Associates em Londres, tendo sido treinado na Universidade de Edimburgo. Os projetos preparados por Hugh foram premiados pelo Royal Institute of British Architects, pela Civic Trust e pela International Property Federation.

Philip Wells entrou para a Hugh Broughton Architects em 2001. Anteriormente havia trabalhado na ESA e na Foster and Partners, tendo sido treinado na Faculdade de Arquitetura de Bartlett. Tornou-se Associado em 2004. No escritório, Phil é responsável pela área de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento e pelo gerenciamento diário do sistema de Garantia da Qualidade.