A project like no other

BESIX contributed to the construction of Antarctica’s first ‘zero emission’ 400 square metre research station, both in Belgium as overall construction coordinator and in Antarctica for the final construction. The station was built over several stages, beginning with the technical area where the garages and workshop are located. The next step, securely anchoring the Station to the granite of Utsteinen Ridge, was crucial and required great precision with the hardness of the granite testing the robustness of the equipment. After completing the anchoring process, the construction team welcomed a series of new members for the assembly of the outer building; comprised of a post and beam structure and nearly one hundred modules.

Minimal energy is lost from the building thanks to the special composition of each wall module, including nine layers of aluminium, wood, woollen felt, insulation layers and kraft paper, which also makes the building air and watertight. The station is built to withstand winds of up to 250 kilometres per hour and temperatures down to -50 degrees Celsius, and can accommodate up to 40 people.