CEEQUAL Excellent (93.3%) – Whole Project Award
Version 4, May 2011 | London, England
Client: Olympic Delivery Authority
Design: Walsh Associates and Bryne Brothers Ltd (D&B contractor)
Construction: Carillion UK Construction (Principal Contractor) with Byrne Brothers Ltd (D&B subcontractor)
Assessor: Chris Gee
Project Summary
The Media Hub provides a range of facilities for the Olympic Park including four buildings; the International Broadcasting Centre; the Main Press Centre; catering village; and multi-storey car park and associated facilities which form the vehicular entry portal to him Park from the A12 at the North West corner of the Park. Vehicles enter via a slip road from the A12 and entry queuing lanes.
During the Olympic Games, the MSCP will act as entry control for international press with in-built ID check and security screening on the 1st floor, with a link bridge to the IBC building. The ground level is designed for coaches with safe drop off zones and coach parking. Upper floors are designated for cars with accessible parking adjacent to the entry suite.
In Legacy mode, it is planned to modify the structure, removing the western half of the car park, fitting permanent cladding and a large array of photovoltaic panels at roof level. This is in accordance with the Olympic Legacy strategy for renewable energy. The main structure has been designed from prefabricated components to ease dis-assembly. The footprint of the western half will be designated for community orientated use after the Games.
The design and construction process responded to the high standards for sustainability set out by the Olympic Delivery Authority, achieving an Excellent Rating under CEEQUAL Version 4 and with a ratified score of 93.3%.
Challenges
The site allocated for the media Hub and car park within the Olympic Master Plan suffered from ground contamination and presence of ground gases, common with other areas of the Park. Extensive ground remediation works were carried out across the Park with a “soil hospital” where contaminated subsoil and topsoil were collected, treated and recycled. A gas membrane and subsoil contamination monitoring points had to be incorporated.
In common with all Olympic projects, the ODA set exacting standards for sustainability for the design, construction and operational stages. There was a strict monitoring and reporting regime of key performance indicators throughout the construction phase.
Design Development
The structure had to be designed to meet both Games and legacy requirements which are substantially different. Initial designs were developed by Walsh Associates on the site for the portal designated by ODA as part of the Park strategy. Following outline planning clearance for the concept, Byrne Brothers Ltd (specialist concrete structure contractors) were appointed under a Design and Build Contract. Considerable savings in materials and embedded carbon were achieved by the prefabricated design. The design also needed to address the client requirement to demolish 50% of the structure in Legacy mode.
Sustainability
The robust ODA park-wide sustainability targets were enforced through contract requirements with regular reporting and audits.
The site was adjacent to local housing to the west. Extensive stakeholder consultation and attention to visual impacts and adoption of CFA piling and off site prefabrication of the structure significantly reduced nuisance to neighbours.
Ground contamination in the substrate gave rise to the installation of a gas membrane under the structure and incorporation of ground water monitoring points within the site. The adjacent canal was a sensitive receptor and monitoring continued throughout construction and post completion.
All waste material was recycled through the Olympic Park on-site recycling centre. The MSCP achieved 98% recycling of site waste. Off site prefabrication techniques reducing waste and construction time, and enabled “deconstructability” after the Games and at the end of service life.
Materials used to construct the MSCP incorporated 21% recycled material content and 100% of bulk fill and sub-base were sourced from recycled or reused material. The groundworks included on-site lime stabilisation of existing soil to reduce bulk fill movements.
The structure’s post occupation energy use is limited to lighting, which has high efficiency luminaires and daylight sensor switching control. Photovoltaic panels are to be installed on the roof after the Games as part of ODA’s Games and Legacy sustainable energy strategy.
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