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Halley VI Accommodation Pods
Servaccomm create iconic living pods for Halley VI Antarctica base.
Servaccomm secured a prestigious contract for some extraordinary buildings at the bottom of the world. Servaccomm were commissioned to supply the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) with accommodation units for their Halley VI research station on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
Client: The British Antarctic Survey
Project: The manufacture of accommodation modules for the Halley VI Research Station.
Building Specification: Steel framed accommodation modules, bespoke designed and manufactured to meet the highest quality and specifications.
Contract Value: £543k
Project Size: 26 individual modules of varying types.
Contract Details: The manufacture of accommodation modules to provide bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, boot room, storage and communications facilities.
Geoff Bunney, National Sales Manager for Servaccomm, continues the story, “The floating ice shelf, where the current Halley station is located, moves towards the coast by around half a kilometre every year. Scientists predict that there will be a major calving event in the next few years and there is a growing risk that the current station will be lost.”
Servaccomm were invited to tender for the accommodation modules for the new Halley VI station through Morrison Construction and were awarded the contract in February of 2007. Geoff continues, “The architect supplied the designs for Halley VI and we produced accommodation pods that included neat, compact bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchenette, laundry, boot room, store and a communications room. The contract consisted of the manufacture of 26 pods in total, which were installed in eight modules providing fully serviced accommodation for 32 people."
Jim Godwin of Servaccomm, Technical Director and Project Manager for Halley VI, adds, "Once the design prototypes were approved, we began the production immediately. The pods travelled as finished units and were craned into the external structure. Once in position, they were simply connected to the electrical circuit and the plumbing. All 26 pods were delivered to Immingham Docks in early September. From there, they went to Capetown in South Africa where all the elements were consolidated into one construction build sequence. Once the pods landed in Antarctica they were loaded onto large, super strength sledges that manage up to six tons in weight. They were then dragged to the Halley VI site by snow tractors and stored until needed."
The pods themselves were traditionally manufactured following a specific design style, which suit the environment in which they are housed. John Gilfoyle, Managing Director of Servaccomm, is very proud that his team were selected for this prestigious project, "A number of world leaders in the manufacture of modular build were asked to tender for the impressive Halley VI contract and, the Servaccomm team were successful based on a combination of factors - professionalism, quality of management, commitment to work with clients in the area of value engineering, and mainly due to our reputation for delivering on time and to the required quality standards. It was clear that we had significant experience in steel framed modular construction and this was important to the design and construction team."
The contract required Servaccomm to manufacture the pods with a structural steel frame, fully fitted with high quality furniture, incorporating sophisticated electrical and plumbing installations. High specification materials, fixtures and fittings were used and supplied throughout the pods to ensure they were robust to withstand the constant use and the harsh environment. The pods were designed for comfort and convenience for the BAS scientists and station team. Delivery is a logistical challenge and once at their destination, the pods needed protection. Servaccomm developed special covers for protection in transit, and also to stop the fine snow, called spindrift, seeping inside the pods whilst they were stored on location.
Construction of the station is only possible during the Antarctic Summer months, which is December to February. Morrison Construction estimates it will take three summers to build the final Halley VI. Whilst Servaccomm's manufacturing process was completed in September 2007, Morrison will not finish the final construction work on site until 2010.
