Australian Antarctic Building System or AANBUS is a
modular construction system used by the
Australian Government Antarctica Division for buildings in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
. The individual modules resemble
shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...
s. Each module is approximately 3.6 metres by 6 metres by 4 metres high.
Buildings built using the AANBUS modules are placed on
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
footings anchored into the ground and do not need external
guy wires to anchor and support them. The modules are built of
steel with attached
insulation and
vapor barrier
A vapor barrier (or vapour barrier) is any material used for damp proofing, typically a plastic or foil sheet, that resists diffusion of moisture through the wall, floor, ceiling, or roof assemblies of buildings and of packaging to prevent inte ...
s.
The modular design provides improved shipping, speed of assembly in the short
Antarctic summer and better testing before shipping. The ability to test the assembled modules allows corrections to be made in the convenience of construction sites in
temperate climates
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
with easy access to parts and equipment, rather than at remote Antarctic locations where shipping in of replacement parts is an arduous undertaking.
Further reading
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External links
Australia’s Antarctic Buildings: AANBUSCharacteristics of the Australian Antarctic Building System
Architecture in Australia
Australian Antarctic Territory
Technology related to buildings in Antarctica
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