N.Z. Camp At Scott Base Will Be Efficient And Comfortable

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28013, 6 July 1956, Page 16

N.Z. Camp At Scott Base Will Be Efficient And Comfortable

In Scott Base. New Zealand will have the most efficient and comfortable camp ever erected in the Antarctic. It should be as habitable in 2057 A.D. as in 1957

“Designed to stand maximum stresses of wind and cold, the buildings will suffer virtually no deterioration in Antarctic conditions.” says M. W. F. Ponder, of the Works Ministry’s Architectural Division, who is supervising plans, specifications and the choice of materials. “Only minimum maintenance will be needed for inde fi n>te life.” Because normal concrete or pile foundations are not practicable, each building will be erected on a grill consisting of two layers, at right angles, of ctosely-spaced wooden beams. Floor panels will be locked in + o each other, walls and interior partitions will fit into prepared slots, and roof na.nels will be laid on by fork-lift tractor. At each s*age—floor, walls and roof —panels will be tied together bv long rods threaded through longitudinally. Firallv. a series of rods across the roo f will tie in with guv wires anchored to railwav sleepers laid in deep holes filled in with soil and then frozen. Anchoring is essential because each panel is so light J for transport purposes) that birldinss might not resist Antarctic gales by their own weight. For the same reason, each building has been kept relatively small. . ~ , A vital r«qu : remenf is prevention of heat loss. Each building will have a po’-ch al its entrance, connected to a central covered wav. The two doors of each porch will be fully insulated, and the outer one will have a small hatch. Prefabricated Tunnel

Covered ways have presented no nrob’ems to former Antarctic expeditions based on sites with plenty of snow. All thev have had to do is to stack their stores in the form of a tunnel. Scott Base, however, cannot rely on being completely snowed in for long periods, and a prefabricated tunnel is being provided. It will have walls of corrugated iron sheets, each with a curved end arched together on a base of angle-iron bars laid across the ground like railway sleepers. Sheet-iron and angle-iron will be spot-welded, with the use of a forklift tractor for the high parts, and will be anchored bv guy wires and boulders. The covered way, completely of metal, will be another safeguard against fire damage.

Two small huts housing international seophvsical year scientific apparatus will be sited away from the main group of buildings to avoid magnetic interference. All materials in them must be non-magnetic—bracing rods, hardware fittings, screws, and even nails will all be of brass.

The foot-square windows in each hut have been speeially designed to prevent heat loss. They will be made up of two sheets of glass substitute enclosing a sealed layer of perfertlv dry air. a complete insulator. The party will take some spares in case of breakages. The expedition will need to melt snow to obtain all its water, and considerable Quantities will be needyd: even vegetable culture by hydroponics will not now be undertaken because of *he extra fuel required. The heat from the exhausts of the two sets of diesel power generators will be used in two se*s of snow melters, one to provide cold water and lhe other warm. Water for Darkroom In addition to drinking, cooking, laundry and washing needs, water is

an essential in the expedition’s photographic darkroom. Scott Base will also have a bath. Apart from normal uses, it is a necessary medical precaution for treating shock or frostbite, as part of the two-bed hospital incorporated in the design. Getting rid of waste water is another problem for which a solution has been found. The Ministry of Works has designed a special waste-water tank with a built-in heating coil, all enclosed in an insulated box with a tinv hatch. When the tank is nearly full the hatch will be opened and a fast pump will squi-t the warm water out and down sloping ground m the few seconds before it freezes. Cooking will be done on an oil-fired range with a flue specially designed to eliminate downdraughts. Oil for the ran«e. the heaters, and the generators will be of a special non-freezing QU Altbough the design of Scott Base reduces all dancers to a minimum, escane hatches are beinE provided hich up on the wall of each buildinn. They will open inward in case snow is piled up outside Tn addition to thermostatic control of hpating. and a bell-ringing fire-alarm system, a code of precautions is be : n r prepared for rostered building wardens, who will regularly check guy wires, escape hatches, ventilation vents, and the heating svstem. . ‘Electrical wiring will be done on the spot to a layout that is now being prepared. A comprehensive plan provides. among other things, for a focused light over each bunk. Furniture —bunks. tables. chairs, nests of drawers, shelves, and benches —and interier partitions are now being made in Wellington from fire-proofed timber and wi’l be put together at Scott Base. Interiors have been designed for maximum possible comfort and most efficient use of space, end there is provision for both community activities and privacy.—(Trans- | Antarctic Expedition. World Copyrignt R ese r ved >.