British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has been honoured at this year’s British Construction and Infrastructure Awards (BCIA), receiving recognition for its modernisation programme in Antarctica.
BAS has won awards in several categories and as finalist in another for the Rothera Modernisation Project, which includes the new Discovery Building – a scientific support and operations hub at Rothera Research Station.
- Winner – Best Projects – Buildings: Social Infrastructure Project award
- Winner – Best Projects – Building and infrastructure: International Project award
- Winner – Design & Delivery: Project Team Excellence award
- Finalist – Biggest Impact: Sustainability and Environmental Impact award
The awards celebrate excellence across the UK’s construction and infrastructure sector and recognise the innovation, sustainability and collaboration required to deliver projects of national and international significance. The awards are brought by the Institution of Civil Engineers and New Civil Engineer.
Rothera Research Station, located on Adelaide Island on the Antarctic Peninsula, is BAS’s largest station. It includes science laboratories, an aquarium, boating and diving facilities, and a meteorological office.
Rothera also hosts an air hangar, runway, wharf and vehicles workshop, making it a key logistics centre for accessing other Antarctic research sites, as well as supporting airborne and deep-field science. The station supports a range of scientific disciplines, from glaciology and climate studies to marine biology and atmospheric research.
The Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme is one of the UK’s largest investments in Antarctic infrastructure (£670m) and is transforming the facilities that support world-leading polar science.
It is delivered by British Antarctic Survey on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council, working alongside commercial partners BAM, Ramboll, Sweco, Hugh Broughton Architects, NORR, Turner & Townsend, G&A Barnie Group and a wide range of specialist contractors and suppliers.
Delivered in one of the most challenging environments on earth, the programme has already provided major new assets including the RRS Sir David Attenborough, upgraded wharfs at Rothera and King Edward Point research stations, improvements to the runway and the award-winning Discovery Building – a new scientific support and operations hub at Rothera Research Station.
Together, these investments are strengthening the UK’s ability to undertake critical research into environmental science, biodiversity, oceans and the polar environment while creating more modern, resilient and sustainable infrastructure for future generations of scientists and operational staff.