Discovery cladding works draw to close
A project in one of the most remote locations on earth has reached a milestone thanks in part, to a team from AJ Engineering.
Cladding is now complete on The Discovery Building which is a new world class scientific research station located in Rothera, Antarctica and operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
The building has been designed with a focus on sustainable and environmental design and will house both BAS’ science and operations teams.
Work began on constructing the building in 2019 and with the milestone cladding now in place, it is expected that the building will be handed over later this year.
AJ Engineering has been involved in the project on behalf of BAM Nuttall for the last five years and each winter has been sending teams on the arduous journey, where they spend months working in the tough climate where temperatures can plunge as low as -34C.
BAM Nuttall has an ongoing relationship with BAS and are now around halfway through a 10-year, £500m contract to upgrade and extend their polar research stations.
Although three of the team are now home, two AJE employees are expected to be in Rothera until May to finish off some loose ends.
Director and general manager Graham Alexander said: “Completion of the cladding, and the unique wind deflector structure, really is a milestone and the whole facility is now well on its way to being complete. We are glad to welcome back some of the team, but we still have two guys out there finishing up. I know, it’s all part and parcel of the job, and AJE is known for being exceptional at working in remote conditions, but this is as remote as it gets and the climate can be harsh. Well done to all of the team who have been involved to date.”
This new two-storey Discovery Building (4,500m2) replaces a number of older buildings and will allow for scientific support and operations functions to work together under one roof.
However, Graham added: “It’s unlikely this will be the end of our time working in Antarctica. We are in the early contractor involvement phase for works to the hangar building at Rothera. The client is keen to use our experience gained over the last five years to advise on buildability and cladding detailing for such a harsh environment.”
The building includes: a plant room and energy centre, a central store to consolidate equipment and cargo stores, workshops and preparation areas, a new operations hub and offices to support the whole station, an operations tower, medical centre, improved training facilities including a climbing wall for expedition teams and an education centre. It will also house enhanced wellbeing areas including gym, breakout areas, music centre and arts and crafts facility and backup systems for life support andoperations.
