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Design Wanted For Antarctic Base

Posted by simoniker on from the babylon-5-comparisons-ahoy dept.

colonist writes "According to the BBC, The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have begun a major international competition to design a new scientific research station at Antarctica. The old station, Halley Research Station, was built in 1992 and its ice shelf will break off by 2010." According to the article: "The first four bases were built on the surface and gradually got covered with snow and ultimately got so deep they became crushed by the weight of ice and had to be replaced", though the "current base on stilts" fared better until the ice shelf problems.

11 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. Been done... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny


    Kurt Russell and his crew had a pretty nice place in The Thing, why not copy that? Just make sure you don't dig up any... you know.. weird things.

    1. Re:Been done... by Stargoat · · Score: 5, Funny

      Listen, lad. I built this research station up from nothing. When I started here, all there was an ice shelf. Other scientists said I was daft to build a research station on an iceshelf, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the water. So, I built a second one. That sank into the water. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the water, but the fourth one... stayed up! And that's what you're gonna get, lad: the strongest research station in these here ice shelves.

      --
      Hoist Number One and Number Six.
  2. Prototype by boomgopher · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here you go, hot off the presses:
    Polar Base Prototype

    --
    Your hybrid is not saving the environment. Its purpose is to make you feel good about buying something.
  3. Obligatory AYB by Eberlin · · Score: 5, Funny

    They need a new design because currently, All Your Base Are Belong To Ice.

  4. Easy one by Tibor+the+Hun · · Score: 5, Funny

    They can build them above the ground again, only this time use steel beams and concrete, as opposed to cardboard.
    Don't get me wrong, good ol' corrugated is a fine building material for forts and tree houses, but for a scientific station that is supposed to get covered with ice, one should invest into some steel.

    That's my two cents, anyway...

    --
    If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
  5. Terrorist proof by uberfruk · · Score: 4, Funny

    FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:

    The base must be terrorist proof, with extra security, metal detectors, and the ability to survive a impact from an airliner.

  6. Re:Igloos. by Sepper · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, but if you do that, you will have to answer on my Canadian patent on 'Building constructed out of carefully selected blocks of frozen material'

    Serioulsy, I have high hopes for a Canadian or Russian design...

    --
    I live in Soviet Canuckistan you insensitive clod!
  7. Re:Antarctic Base... by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

    "All Your Antarctic Base Are Belong To Us!"

    1999 called. The copyright on this joke hasn't expired yet.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  8. gradually got covered with snow and got crushed by Grand · · Score: 4, Funny

    maybe then need to invest in some shovels.

  9. Re:Submarine style? by myowntrueself · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes!

    Drag one of those old Soviet 'Typhoon' class subs up onto the ice shelf, complete with reactors (though maybe without the missiles) and set it up as a base in antarctica! And declare (if one *did* keep the missiles) the Autonomous Anonymous Anarchic Antarctic Republic!

    --
    In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  10. Re:Antarctic Base... by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

    " Thoughts?"

    Boobs.

    --
    "Derp de derp."