W12 - Poetics of Etreme Context: REFLECTION ( TE2.3, TE 2.5, CC3.4, C 4.2, C 4.4)

What are the key design features that affect the evolution of Halley Research Station to Halley VI?

The Halley Research station evolution was chosen for my study because of its location in the region that has more unstable condition compared to other Antarctic region where built environment exist, which is the Brunt ice shelf. As a result, the evolution of Halley research station experienced more substantial changes that led to the award-winning design of Halley VI.

Almost all of the building designs in Antarctica face the same problem throughout the region which is the accumulation of snow that gradually destroys the building structures and eventually bury them. Halley Research Station had to go through 4 types of design products to provide solutions for this issue until finally able to produce the design of Halley V that enables the station to sustain itself on snow for almost 20 years. The innovation that led to this accomplishment is the jackable leg system. 

While the revolutionary design of Halley V was able to depart the building significantly from the approach of the previous four stations (Halley I, II, III and IV), there was a need of mobility and flexibility, as well as to improve its self-sustenance in terms of producing energy sources by itself. Three key design criteria have I found most consistent throughout my studies on the evolution of Halley Research Station are:

1. The effectiveness of the building's base and foundation to allow it to be on top of the build-up snow
2. The mobility of the building to allow it to be relocated periodically across distances of many kilometres across the Brunt ice shelf
3. The reduction of environmental footprint of the research station - renewable energy sources and clean burning of waste

Halley VI appears to achieve these three design criteria by applying the jackable and ski-based building design and the use of incinerators for the clean burning of waste as well as renewable energy source from Solar-thermal and photovoltaic cells systems. These are the design features that distinct itself from Halley V, which was the most successful design of Halley station so far.

Halley VI Research Station is a good example of how architecture had always been the vital elements of the sustainability of the people in the Antarctica. It is a product of more than half a century of design evolution that had gone through trial and error. By addressing the issues of mobility, flexibility and to minimise the build-up of snow, the Hydraulic Leg Jacking System becomes one of the leading innovation for Antarctic designs since no other buildings like Halley VI has ever been attempted before. In addition to that, the configuration of eight different modules also provide flexibility for the building to be movable by being designed to be separated, towed across the ice shelf by bulldozer, then reconnected again at the new site.

Looking back throughout the whole century of the evolution of the built environment in Antarctica, I found the dedication of the scientists in finding solutions to maintain their presence within the icy wilderness as a source of inspiration for me as an architecture student. I also believe that technology is the leading instrument for architecture innovation that leads to optimum design solutions. 

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