A new Antarctic ice station set to open next week is equipped
with skis and legs that can walk across the ice. Looking more
like something from the set of Star Wars than a typical research
lab, the building is designed to overcome some of the key
challenges of providing shelter in one of the world's least
hospitable environments. Most Antarctic structures are buried
under ice within a decade or so due to rising snow levels. But
the hydraulic-legged structure will be able to evade such a fate
and even relocate in more dramatic circumstances - such as the
site on which it stands carving off as an iceberg. The Halley
Antarctic Station is the award-winning work of Hugh Broughton
architects. The firm says the challenges in designing the
structure were myriad - it is the most southerly research
station operated by the British Antarctic Survey, located on the
150-metre thick floating Brunt Ice Shelf, which moves 400 metres
each year towards the sea. Snow levels rise by over a metre
every year and the sun does not ri