Horseshoe Island, Antarctica

In one of the harshest climates on earth, paint has to work extra hard to fulfil its role as a protective finish. We were commissioned to undertake architectural paint research on the buildings and structures at Horseshoe Island, Base Y, in order to record and understand their decorative history.

  • Main Hut at Base Y, Horseshoe Island

    Main Hut at Base Y, Horseshoe Island

  • Cross sectional microscope image of the paint layers

    Cross sectional microscope image of the paint layers

  • Cross sectional microscope image of the paint layers

    Cross sectional microscope image of the paint layers

  • Archival image of the site

    Archival image of the site

Horseshoe Island was established as a scientific base in 1955 and operated for five years. It was briefly re-occupied in 1969 to facilitate local survey work.

We were commissioned by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust to carry out architectural paint research on these structures as part of the effort to preserve and record historic British outposts in the Antarctic.  This was achieved by:

  • Training on-site conservators to remove paint samples
  • Identifying 16 samples to be analysed back at our, slightly warmer, laboratory at the University of Lincoln
  • Analysing historic photographs and documents alongside material evidence  

The paint was in poor condition on the exterior due to the extreme weathering effects of the Antarctic climate but the interior was in much better condition. The variance of paint colours and types we discovered was surprising, with at least twenty-one different paints applied.