So, from what I read, it's not that the bar can structure is special - it's more about the author's infatuation with. I resonate with that. I often find some structures (especially technical ones, occasionally - ruins) causing this kind of sensation. (Is there a word it?) Metal grid staircases, pipes often invoke it for me.
To some extend, I like these feelings also in some games (notably: Half Life, including Alyx and the remake Black Mesa).
Also - given current technology, both with both tech for scanning and creating models, and generative one - I would love to turn some real locations into "walking simulator games". As a side note, "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" was based on a real location in Poland.
When I moved to London I used to love listening to ambient electronic music and taking the tube at night, and many of the quieter lines and back routes up emergency staircases and so on evoke what I suspect is a similar feeling (at least I think it's similar because it too reminds me of the HL aesthetic).
I wonder if growing up with particular kinds of video game experiences produces a particular affinity with certain situations in real life.
I think places like these take on totally different feelings for people who actually have to live or work with them (like the author) versus people who are just passing through. They're a lot less... romantic... when they're your daily life, but that by no means makes your connections weaker. Just different, in a way that's really hard to reify. At least for me.
The beer can feels a bit like stacks I’ve worked on. Connects everything together, is cheaply made, often requires Herculean effort to keep functional at ground level, has a utility elevator only for special things, and becomes an object of cult-like obsession by anyone who has to labor under its cover.
Could say that pretty much all of my projects have some kind of beer can or other.
I wonder how much you would enjoy exploring old mountain bunkers. I bet there is a TON of that aesthetic. Might be worth a look to see if you can find any!
Great post. I have been intrigued by the life in Antarctica (especially the people living this life) ever since watching Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World. This place seems to attract a fascinating variety of characters, many of which seem to have sprung from a 19th-century adventure novel (or even from one of the expeditions of the Heroic Age).
That's a sick job. I had been wondering if there's roles for IT in Antarctica, but I fear my wife may be angry if I dip off to an isolated continent for a year.
I have a friend who's worked in Antarctica as IT support (US) for...ever. Decades.
He may or may not have been one of the last two people to ever set foot in the original McMurdo Station, before the weight of snow crushed it. Cool stories.
Interesting article just for how the structures tell stories about history of the place, under such unique constraints.
Browsing the site made me find the "Engineering for slow internet" article too, which appears to have been a big thing here lol. Very interesting! Dunno if Elon's Starlink already one-shotted that whole issue, but I imagined a whole remote access piece of software that could avoid a lot of the related pains ... Something across lines of remote sending low bitdepth very compressed images back, and only on user interaction, clicks / typing in the input fields working in "turns" instead of realtime-by-default. Constraining the bitrate even more, the returned data could be just rects with AI labeling them either "some graphic" or "text" with the text content of the image only being transmitted. The remote could also send basic updates based on reading the screen like "page loaded and visual of it has been static for x seconds" to avoid wasting any data.
Wait, why are things getting buried to the extent that the ground level seems to rise? Does the snow level just gradually increase there? Does the station sink?
Given that sea levels are rising, it seems that mean snow and ice levels should fall. So on average, foundations should get more exposed rather than buildings getting buried.
I wonder if the electrical engineers used ambient temperature correction factors when designing the electrical system, -80F would let you use substantially smaller conductors.
The NEC allows conductor ampacity to be adjusted 1.2x if the ambient temp is below 50F, but that’s where the table stops, but I’m guessing lower temps would allow for even higher ampacities.
1.2x more ampacity would let you use #12s for a 30A circuit instead of #10s.
I worked in an ice cream factory (palletizer) before I think that was -30F and you had to wear these cooler suits, that was brutal with frozen nostrils
I was wondering about the water and sewage pipes the author mentioned going through these unheated areas. Are the pipes heated? Or just so well-insulated that the contents doesn't have time to freeze before reaching their destination?
From a quick look at the construction, it seems that is the case.
The British and German stations (and perhaps others) use a different approach, standing on mobile legs that can be raised, allowing the snow foundation underneath to be built up:
So, from what I read, it's not that the bar can structure is special - it's more about the author's infatuation with. I resonate with that. I often find some structures (especially technical ones, occasionally - ruins) causing this kind of sensation. (Is there a word it?) Metal grid staircases, pipes often invoke it for me.
To some extend, I like these feelings also in some games (notably: Half Life, including Alyx and the remake Black Mesa).
Also - given current technology, both with both tech for scanning and creating models, and generative one - I would love to turn some real locations into "walking simulator games". As a side note, "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" was based on a real location in Poland.
When I moved to London I used to love listening to ambient electronic music and taking the tube at night, and many of the quieter lines and back routes up emergency staircases and so on evoke what I suspect is a similar feeling (at least I think it's similar because it too reminds me of the HL aesthetic).
I wonder if growing up with particular kinds of video game experiences produces a particular affinity with certain situations in real life.
I think places like these take on totally different feelings for people who actually have to live or work with them (like the author) versus people who are just passing through. They're a lot less... romantic... when they're your daily life, but that by no means makes your connections weaker. Just different, in a way that's really hard to reify. At least for me.
I feel like I’ve had this feeling quite often. I’ll say it definitely happens in office buildings pre and post being hired.
The beer can feels a bit like stacks I’ve worked on. Connects everything together, is cheaply made, often requires Herculean effort to keep functional at ground level, has a utility elevator only for special things, and becomes an object of cult-like obsession by anyone who has to labor under its cover.
Could say that pretty much all of my projects have some kind of beer can or other.
Maybe this is a clue toward understanding my recent inexplicable obsession with shipping containers.
I wonder how much you would enjoy exploring old mountain bunkers. I bet there is a TON of that aesthetic. Might be worth a look to see if you can find any!
The title is correct, but it obscures the fact that it's discussing life in Antarctica!
Living in antarctica is one of our closest analogues to long-term space habitation.
Agreed. Wasn't interested in the article at all based on the zero-context title. Glanced at the comments anyway and ... Antarctica?
Note the brrr.fyi, it’s a long running series.
If you have been to Pole as I have the reference is obvious. ;-)
Great post. I have been intrigued by the life in Antarctica (especially the people living this life) ever since watching Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World. This place seems to attract a fascinating variety of characters, many of which seem to have sprung from a 19th-century adventure novel (or even from one of the expeditions of the Heroic Age).
Can't view this in any other context than John Carpenter's The Thing (1982).
R.J. MacReady approves this sentiment.
Also the Empire Strikes Back, ‘80.
That's a sick job. I had been wondering if there's roles for IT in Antarctica, but I fear my wife may be angry if I dip off to an isolated continent for a year.
I have a friend who's worked in Antarctica as IT support (US) for...ever. Decades.
He may or may not have been one of the last two people to ever set foot in the original McMurdo Station, before the weight of snow crushed it. Cool stories.
They have a hard time staffing the IT roles usually. Throw an app in, you can just do a 90ish day ‘summer’ deployment at some stations.
I saw one advertised in 2001. Regret not applying! Bonus is it was only 3 months in Antartica I think and then rest not.
My wife’s already angry, maybe I should apply… :D
British Antarctic Survey post IT roles every year...
This would be such a great Doom map.
Interesting article just for how the structures tell stories about history of the place, under such unique constraints.
Browsing the site made me find the "Engineering for slow internet" article too, which appears to have been a big thing here lol. Very interesting! Dunno if Elon's Starlink already one-shotted that whole issue, but I imagined a whole remote access piece of software that could avoid a lot of the related pains ... Something across lines of remote sending low bitdepth very compressed images back, and only on user interaction, clicks / typing in the input fields working in "turns" instead of realtime-by-default. Constraining the bitrate even more, the returned data could be just rects with AI labeling them either "some graphic" or "text" with the text content of the image only being transmitted. The remote could also send basic updates based on reading the screen like "page loaded and visual of it has been static for x seconds" to avoid wasting any data.
Wait, why are things getting buried to the extent that the ground level seems to rise? Does the snow level just gradually increase there? Does the station sink?
Wind driven snow and drifting will continue to bury things. Check out the South Pole Topography post (and the rest of the blog) https://brr.fyi/posts/south-pole-topography
Yes it does, and the process of regular re-raising it is fascinating.
Given that sea levels are rising, it seems that mean snow and ice levels should fall. So on average, foundations should get more exposed rather than buildings getting buried.
Varies by location, it seems the south pole isn't warmed up enough yet for that to happen. Big chunks are melting and drifting off though.
You do realize averages don't imply anything about local conditions?
I'm sorry he won't be able to reply, he drown in a pond that was on average 2 feet deep.
Yes, but this seems to be a problem at every Antarctic base I've read about.
The buildings are themselves grounded in snow, I imagine there's a sinking effect
And, where is the septic tank?
Here is the wastewater treatment plant at McMurdo. https://brr.fyi/posts/wastewater-plant
I wonder if the electrical engineers used ambient temperature correction factors when designing the electrical system, -80F would let you use substantially smaller conductors.
The NEC allows conductor ampacity to be adjusted 1.2x if the ambient temp is below 50F, but that’s where the table stops, but I’m guessing lower temps would allow for even higher ampacities.
1.2x more ampacity would let you use #12s for a 30A circuit instead of #10s.
-80F damn
I worked in an ice cream factory (palletizer) before I think that was -30F and you had to wear these cooler suits, that was brutal with frozen nostrils
Notably in peril now, research in the Antarctic, where climate change is more apparent than in most places.
Edit, meant to add this: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01055-6
That was such a great blog
This is so cool. I think South/North pole expeditions/stations are up there with space science in terms of the awe and wonder they evoke.
Really feels like old internet too.
Why did I just watch a video of first-person perspective of someone climbing a few flights of stairs?
What prevents unbounded frosty ice buildup in the unheated areas?
https://brr.fyi/media/beer-can/ice-tunnel-01-small.webp
I was wondering about the water and sewage pipes the author mentioned going through these unheated areas. Are the pipes heated? Or just so well-insulated that the contents doesn't have time to freeze before reaching their destination?
Once the elevated station becomes buried, will they build another one on top? When will the madness end!? It's south pole stations all the way down!
From a quick look at the construction, it seems that is the case.
The British and German stations (and perhaps others) use a different approach, standing on mobile legs that can be raised, allowing the snow foundation underneath to be built up:
https://youtu.be/LSCCi9ZhnZs?si=_nsyN5qfFeT-dCUa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6AfUJLtPcA
The British one can also be towed around if it needs to be somewhere else:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQvqaSWmVeo
I suspect this one can be raised and lowered too, given it's on piles.
It's designed to be raised. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen–Scott_South_Pole_Stat...
brr.fyi - perfect domain name
I love reading these, for some reason the super remote mundane infrastructure is fascinating
This is the kind of website I would sign-up for a monthly newsletter with updates.
Why don’t you? https://brr.fyi/subscribe
For some weird reason I didn't see the option right there... ugh
I'm intrigued by the author's potential views on Camp Century.
>-58°C
Probably a good contender for "coldest stairwell on earth"
the photos really bring it all to life - thanks!
I like the vibe.