site.btaSimsta Engineering Managing Director Reveals Details of Bulgarian Antarctic Base New Laboratory Block's Construction

Simsta Engineering Managing Director Veselin Stamenov told BTA about the work on the construction of the new laboratory block at the Bulgarian Antarctic base. Together with his partner Nevyan Simeonov, he took on the challenge with pride and honour.

The process started with the announcement of a public procurement and tender. "Once we won the tender we realized that this was going to be the biggest challenge for us as a construction company. Simsta Engineering has done many buildings of this type before, but never on a site like this. This was one of the challenges we faced - besides the overall planning of what would be prepared to transport there with our new ship, also to be able to build in this sometimes hostile, even aggressive environment. Not only the low temperatures, but also the high wind speed," Stamenov said.

To ensure success, engineers undertake precedent-setting test – all the fabricated steelwork was moved to a big construction hall, assembled as the scaffolding would have looked on the construction site itself, reviewed, disassembled, packed up and put on the research vessel that took it to Livingston Island.

The construction process started in the 2022-23 season when Nevyan first arrived on Livingston Island and the reinforced concrete single foundations were laid. The work continued with many challenges, one of the most significant of which being the fitting of the roof. "It consists of thermal panels which are quite bulky and heavy. Fitting them had to be done by crane, with specially instructed fitters. And just then a very strong wind came up. You can imagine the crane with the panels hooked up to it, and the people around trying to install them - and suddenly a strong wind started blowing. It just had to be secured and the loads, the people - everything was transported back inside. We waited for the right environment and then started the installation all over again. It is impossible to work in such conditions. The builder's best option, then, is to wait in a reasonable way for the right time to be able to do a certain type of work," Stamenov explained.

The building itself is a reinforced concrete zero cycle of single foundations. The supporting structure is made of hot-dip galvanized steel, beams, columns, and sections. The enclosures, facades and roof are made of thermal panels that are specially manufactured for the conditions in which the building will operate. During the first year of construction, the structure was completed in the first year of construction, while the internal installations, including electricity, water supply, sewerage, heating and ventilation were completed in the second year. The building is filled with light and heat to enable it to function fully and provide suitable conditions for scientific work.

Different numbers and qualifications of specialists were needed during the different stages of construction. At first it was building erectors dealing with steel structures. Then on the different parts as electricians, as plumbers, building the sewerage part, heating and ventilation specialists. The total number of people that were needed was 40. 

At the end of the project Veselin Stamenov sent a message to the young generations: "Time is the most precious resource we have. It has been given to us and not a minute of it should be wasted or squandered. I would like to tell them that such a seemingly crazy idea as the creation of a Bulgarian base in Antarctica can turn out to be extremely profitable, extremely valuable - both for the people who built it and for the generations to come. I would like to tell them that they should not give up on these ideas, because you never know what success they may lead to. As it happened with Prof. Pimpirev's idea - everybody can see it, it is being implemented now on Livingston Island. This is something that gives time, gives knowledge and advice to the younger."