University of Colorado Denver architecture students have worked with scientists for the past five months designing and building a new Antarctic field camp.
Leo Borasio and his fellow students have to disassemble what they build so the structures can be shipped to replace a long-standing NOAA Fisheries field camp, according to an Aug. 2 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries news release.
“We had great meetings where they really quizzed us on our likes and dislikes of the current camp, what works and what doesn’t. They tried to keep the best parts and improve the rest,” George Watters, director of the Antarctic division of NOAA Fisheries, said in the release.
The structures need to be taken apart and transported to Cape Shirreff, on the windswept coast of the South Shetland Islands, the release reported. They will be put back together there to accommodate scientists who investigate and monitor animals, the effects of fisheries and the environment on the southernmost continent.
“We’re asking a lot of these buildings,” Borasio said, according to the release. “Even though Antarctica can seem intimidating when you understand the demands involved, everyone is excited about figuring out how to build something for that environment.”
