Trial assembly completed for main building of Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station
by CIJ News iDesk III 
2025-06-17 
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Dekpol Budownictwo and Andrewex Construction have completed the trial assembly of the new main building for the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station. The project, commissioned by the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences on behalf of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, marks the final stage in the station’s redevelopment. The trial assembly was carried out in May 2025 at Andrewex Construction’s production facility in Cierpice near Toruń. It involved the temporary erection of roughly one-third of the structure. This process allowed the construction team to verify the structural design, confirm compliance with technical specifications, and identify potential issues that could affect installation in the Antarctic environment. The structure will now be dismantled, packed, and prepared for shipment by sea. According to Dekpol’s Technical Director Michał Jakubczyk, pre-assembly is essential for projects in remote and challenging locations. Given the 14,000-kilometre distance and limited infrastructure in Antarctica, preparation in Poland is critical to reduce risks and ensure continuity once work begins on-site. Work began in March 2025 with the installation of prefabricated foundations and the steel base structure. In subsequent weeks, the wooden structural components, ceiling elements, and façade panels were added. Many components were produced using semi-automated prefabrication lines to ensure quality and efficiency. Dekpol handled the foundations and steel elements, while Andrewex was responsible for the timber structure, ceilings, and façade panels. Andrewex’s Serafin Jerzy Szyszka emphasized that prefabrication was essential for meeting the construction timeline, noting that around 95% of housing elements will be preassembled. This will reduce the amount of on-site work required under harsh Antarctic conditions. Equipment and staffing used in the trial closely mirrored what will be deployed in Antarctica, including cranes and telescopic handlers. Members of the team that will carry out the final assembly also participated in the trial to gain practical experience and ensure operational readiness. Approximately 50 personnel were involved in the pre-assembly process. The structure and technical equipment will be shipped from the Port of Gdynia to Antarctica, with final construction work scheduled to begin at the end of 2025. Tasks will include sealing the building against energy loss and air leakage, followed by interior finishing in April 2026. The main building will stand over 10 metres tall and rest on an 80-tonne steel support structure. It features more than 220 cubic metres of glued spruce timber, nearly 400 ceiling panels, and over 600 prefabricated façade panels covered with weather-resistant sheet metal. Installation will involve 76,000 screws, 130 high-resistance glass windows, 49 dome skylights, and over 1,300 metres of ventilation ductwork. Dekpol Budownictwo has been involved in the redevelopment of the Arctowski Station since 2020, having already constructed the station’s foundation, a garage hall, and a floating equipment hall. Andrewex previously provided laminated timber for Polish Antarctic facilities as far back as the 1970s. In 2024, the consortium signed a contract for the final stage of the redevelopment, including the construction of the new main station building.