Research Station Halley VI

Eight years of planning and construction have yielded one of the most extraordinary building projects on our planet: the Halley VI research station of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The extreme climatic conditions prevalent in the polar light zone on the Antarctic Brunt ice shelf place very high demands on man and material. To achieve the aim of offering the research team the most comfortable working and living conditions possible under these conditions, OKAGEL functional glass was used in the distinctive red community module of the station: creating a pleasant atmosphere of daylight in the lounge – with the added plus of exceptionally good insulation values.
The two-storey, red community module stands out in the white vastness of the Antarctic like a glowing entity and offers the team of the research station a place to eat, read, confer and enjoy other leisure activities. The high degree of user comfort in the interior results, for the main part, from the soft daylight evenly diffused into the leisure area through the generous glazing of OKAGEL insulating panes. The advantages of the translucent insulating material come into their own under the extreme conditions of the Antarctic Halley Bay. The nanoporous aerogel is not only lightweight it also offers a high level of heat insulation, noise protection and translucency. OKAGEL exhibits excellent Ug-values which, in contrast to conventional insulating glazing filled with air or gas, are independent from the installation angle. For example, a double glazing with 60 mm aerogel in the cavity has an Ug-value under 0.3 W(m²K).