Extreme conservation in Antarctica

Pip Cheshire Photo Gord Macdonald

Heritage carpenter Martin Wenzel working at Cape Evans photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Discovery Hut Hut Point photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Ice underneath the floor Cape Evans photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Terra Nova Hut Cape Evans photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Lifting the lino to remove ice underfloor Cape Evans photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Weatherproofing the hut Cape Evans photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Nimrod Hut interior Cape Royds after conservation photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Torbjorn Prytz and Al Fastier window scheduling Cape Adare photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Conservator Stefanie Stott works on Lime Juice Nodules from Cape Adare photo Antarctic Heritage Trust

Working to save a few fragile huts in the most hostile of conditions has been one of the most satisfying projects undertaken by architects Chris Cochran and Pip Cheshire.

The huts come from the Antarctic "heroic era", left behind by explorers like Scott and Shackleton, and now protected by the Antarctic Treaty.

For the past few decades Chris and Pip have been part of a conservation team that's studied the construction of the early explorers' huts.  And they've come up with ingenious ways to keep them standing for many years to come.

Lynn Freeman talks with Pip Cheshire and Chris Cochran about the tricky logistics, ethical and legal issues and hands-on challenges of working in Antarctica.

Chris and Pip will be talking more about extreme conservation at City Gallery Wellington on April 15 as part of the New Zealand Institute of Architects' City Talks series: