How Green is Your Website

Our online habits have a surprising impact on climate change: according to the Global Carbon Project, if the Internet were a Country, it would rank 4th in the world by CO2 emissions.

FAANG companies CO2 emissions in 2020 compared with the emissions of whole countries.

Karma Metrix latest research unpacks sustainability KPI of 5 tech giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (FANG). The data shows that FAANG companies emitted 98.7 million tons of CO2, more than the entire Czech Republic (92.1 million) in one year, with an aggregate increase in total emissions of 17% from 2018 to 2020. Some of these tech firms are showing positive signs of CO2 reduction, thanks to the increasing datacenter efficiency and use of renewable energy.

Regarding energy consumption, 5 companies consumed 49.7 million MWh almost like Romania (50 million) and more than Portugal and Greece. From 2018 to 2020 the yearly energy consumption of the 5 firms tripled, going from 16.6 to 49.7 million MWh.

“Digital sustainability is a priority in corporate green transformation: planting trees and buying carbon credits is not enough to face climate change in time, we need to switch on our ‘saving mindset!’ Some technology giants understand it and are taking action to improve technical efficiency and energy saving in their technology assets,” comments Ale Agostini, founder of the Swiss project Karma Metrix. “All companies that are moving to digital transformation should solve the problem at the root by measuring emissions from digital and taking real actions to contain them. We need to raise awareness that, by saving energy, digital assets will emit less CO2, save money and help climate change.”

 

Every website consumes energy and emits CO2. Karmametrix.com is the cutting-edge tool that measures how eco-sustainable a website is by calculating and improving its CO2 emissions. You can check how environmentally conscious is your corporate website by using this free trial:

CLICK HERE

 

For every tech giant under consideration, the research analysed the ESG Sustainability reports published in the last 3 years, extracting data and insights about energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Download the whole study here or at this link: https://t.ly/5hJx.

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CPD WEBINAR FROM SAFEGUARD

June 7th 2022  – 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

 

Rising damp is a serious problem, but it is often misdiagnosed. Whereas penetrating damp can have multiple causes, rising damp only occurs when groundwater rises up through absorbent bricks and mortar. Rising occurs almost exclusively in old buildings, where existing damp-proof courses have failed or are absent entirely.

Upskill yourself with detailed insights into the causes of rising damp and the modern treatments available to stop and prevent it. Get to grips with related hygroscopic moisture problems. Understand rising damp problems throughout a historical and worldwide lens.

Catch this unmissable free CPD Webinar at 1 – 2 PM on Tuesday 7th June. It is fully approved by the Royal Institute of British Architects and counts towards annual CPD obligations.

CLICK HERE

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WIN WITH WEST FRASER

The UK’s leading wood-based panel manufacturer West Fraser (formerly known as Norbord) is offering customers the chance to win some amazing prizes.

 

 

 

Customers spending as little as £25 on SterlingOSB Zero, CaberFloor P5, CaberDek, CaberShieldPlus or CaberWood MDF at participating builders’ merchants’* can gain entry to the monthly prize draw for a chance to win great prizes.  The more you buy, the more chances to win!  Participants just need to purchase products and upload a receipt at the West Fraser Rewards website https://www.westfraserrewards.co.uk/ between June and November.  Among the top-branded prizes on offer are a Lay-Z-spa, a Karcher pressure washer and a Samsung TV. Each month will see a different selection of prizes and there’s even a chance to be entered into the November draw to win a brand-new Mercedes van!

 

 

 

* a full list of participating merchants and full terms and conditions can be found at https://www.westfraserrewards.co.uk/

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The impact of cinema on building design

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When we watch movies, we witness characters moving and acting in enthralling environments, carefully selected or created to evoke the beautiful, the horrifying, the majestic. Designers and architects, on the other hand, watch films a little differently; they tend to be interested in how the background themes interact with the main theme through the film’s architectural layers. They start to notice and study the language and personality of all the structures depicted in these films and understand their role in crafting an evocative environment. Building Specifier editor Joe Bradbury discusses the correlation between movie and building:

Architects often strive to figure out how these structures came to be, pondering how they were constructed. They might even be able to picture the blueprints that would be required to bring the structure into existence. It’s hard to explain, but architects and designers know when they see an ambitious fictional building that could actually be perceived and imagined in reality. This pushes them to innovate and reach for the sky.

Science Fiction is one such genre that can be described as a no-holds-barred lens through which we might perceive the future of brave and rule-breaking architectural design. In fact, the last 50 years alone have proved that some films even hinted at technologies that later came to exist in the future, not long after their fictional inception.

Science Fiction throws the rulebook in the bin when it comes to city planning and building design. Unrestrained by the limits of planning policies, building codes, rules, regulations, red tape and logistics the human imagination is set free, allowing us, the viewer to experience gargantuan technological metropolises, brimming with richness and character.

In film, design aspects such as scale, proportions, colours, textures and forms can easily be given a deeper and intangible meaning. They not only depict larger-than-life scales, but often demonstrate the complex relationship between architecture and society, including scenes that display both the negative and good aspects of it.

Whilst observing these fictional environments, it’s wise to wonder “what lessons can be drawn from this?”

Films can act as architectural critique

Films frequently feature dystopic images. Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’, set in 2019 San Angeles, features an unforgettable futuristic, post-industrialist city, which is an excellent example of this. For those watching closely, the film is certainly a critique of the past and present, as well as a clear embodiment of the troubles engendered by this new urban condition. It serves as a cautionary tale about population growth, urban development, and unfettered capitalism.

 

How design influences our films

Needless to say, movies have an unquestionable impact on modern design and our cultural understanding of environments overall. However, the pendulum swings both ways and modern architecture, in turn, brings its creative aspect to the cinema, also – forming a continuous loop of inspiration.

Cinema is an art form in which architecture can play a prominent role. Architecture helps to add significance to a film’s story and to set the scene in terms of both location and time period.

Cinema allows for the preservation of old building as well as the invention of futuristic styles that have yet to be seen. It depicts architecture as we see it in our daily lives in the cities we live in, including both new and old buildings. Because architecture is used as part of the scenery for cinematic works, architecture and cinema are inextricably linked. It permits a city to be depicted in both a realistic and a fantastical manner.

Films can also be beneficial to urban planners since they help them to think about how cities will expand and evolve in the future. Architects can understand how the city is constructed in our collective imagination and how it might be represented in many ways, thanks to movies. One can watch something set in a dystopia and consider “what went wrong?” Conversely, one can watch a film about a Utopia and consider what steps would need to be taken in order to guide society towards this goal.

Hollywood’s link to construction

Many well-known actors and actresses in Hollywood have a background in architecture. Joseph Kosinski, the director behind blockbusters including ‘Tron Legacy’ and ‘Oblivion’, received his Master of Architecture from Columbia University in 1999. Instead of pursuing a career as an architect, Kosinki pursued a career in cinema, owing to his digital modelling skills, which he learned while studying architecture.

Following the completion of his thesis Beyond Mise-En-Scène: Narrative Through Architecture in Main Stream Cinema, Anshuman Prasad relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a set designer. ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’, ‘Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’, and ‘The Hangover’ are among his many blockbuster flicks.

Comparing the two

In many aspects, movie sets are comparable to building sites in that they require many separate, independent professional organisations that are constantly collaborating with new people on set/site – many of whom they have never met and will never encounter again.

The importance of timing, as well as logistics, coordination, and communication, cannot be overstated. Production facilities change while production moves forward at constantly-changing locations. Construction professionals and actors alike can expect unpredictable weather and daily variations from the schedule, however there is still the pressure that fixed production plans must be closely adhered to; otherwise affects upon the overall project will be severe.

On a building site, it only takes one tiny mistake to start an expanding problem-chain that can result in lost money, poor quality, accidents, conflicts, and so on. This is a scenario that is quite similar to what happens on a huge professional movie set on a daily basis: Consider any minor hiccup in the production plans for shooting a car chase through a city, or a sick main actor in a scheduled scene with rented animal trainers, child actors, weather dependencies, hundreds of extras, incorporating production into special effects design, signing a slew of permissions on a faraway location rented for the day, and so on.

In summary

There is certainly a strong link between the world of movies and the world of building design. Next time you stick one on, pay close attention to the backdrop – the unsung hero of cinema.

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EMBODIED CARBON – Is the Government Starting to take Note

OU (Open University) experts have called for greater sustainability in the construction of new buildings, which are globally responsible for 10% of all carbon emissions.[1]

Dr Alice Moncaster and PhD student Jane Anderson, international experts in reducing carbon emissions in construction, have provided evidence towards a Select Committee report (published 26 May 2022) that they have hailed as ‘the first major step towards tackling new building emissions.’

Currently building regulations require new buildings and major refurbishments of existing buildings to be designed to be energy efficient, limiting the energy used in heating, lighting and cooling.

Requirements for energy efficiency have been increasing over the last two decades, particularly since the 2006 enforcement of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), although the earlier target ‘zero carbon’ requirement by 2020 hasn’t been met.

However, experts argue that even if the target had been met, the UK’s definition of zero carbon and the EPBD have both ignored a major element of the whole-of-life carbon emissions of a building.

This missing part is the ‘embodied carbon’ of the building, the carbon emissions from the manufacture of all the building materials, their transport, and the construction processes, as well as repair and replacement over the life of the building, and the demolition and waste processes.

Dr Moncaster said:

“Ignoring embodied carbon is like budgeting for a car, but only including the running costs of tax and petrol, and forgetting to include the cost of buying the car in the first place. 

“We can’t do this with money. However, individually we don’t have to pay for embodied carbon costs. Unlike the energy used in heating and lighting, there isn’t a direct connection between the cost of the building materials and their carbon emissions.”

She continued:

“Around 10% of all global carbon emissions come from constructing buildings. Although we don’t pay for it directly, we know now that this embodied carbon is a devastating cost to the planet.”

This overlooked emission is sometimes called the ‘capital carbon’. After years of industry lobbying, research and the development of a methodology, Dr Moncaster feels that the UK Government is starting to take note, and embodied carbon is a key element of the latest Inquiry.

Dr Moncaster highlighted the importance of the report and its potential impact:

“The Government has a key role to play here in legislating to reduce these construction impacts.

“We hope this report will have significant and hard-hitting consequences for building construction practices, construction materials, and building regulation in the UK.”

Read more on climate change and the built environment in Dr Moncaster’s OpenLearn article.

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WINDFALL TAX – INDUSTRY RESPONSE

Cara Jenkinson, Cities Manager at Ashden, a climate solutions charity which works on progressing green skills for retrofit in the UK with local authorities and retrofit organisations, says:

“Introducing a windfall tax at this time is an ethical and financial ‘must’ and we welcome the government announcement. With the urgent need to reduce the cost-of-living crisis, this windfall tax is a no-brainer.

“But for real impact the government needs to be much bolder – the UK should be ploughing money into investments that will rapidly reduce prices for struggling families and reduce emissions for a struggling planet. Embarking on a massive nation-wide retrofit campaign that is designed to help the poorest of this country, is the second ‘must’.

“A national retrofit programme will boost local businesses, create new jobs in every corner of the country and support the government’s net-zero and levelling-up targets. Supporting retrofitting is the obvious choice – it will quickly turn cold, damp, homes with high fuel bills into warm, insulated, cheaper-to-run homes.”

Ashden work with many organisations focusing on renewable energy, energy efficiency and retrofit of buildings in the UK which is where some of the most extensive, immediate and rapid decarbonisation could happen.

Mike Foster, CEO of not for profit trade association the Energy and Utilities Alliance, says:

“We welcome the announcement from the Chancellor on the grants for households that finally provide a lifeline to those struggling with the elevated cost of energy bills. This type of short term measure is a vital step in protecting the most vulnerable in our society from falling into fuel poverty as the energy market remains turbulent in the approach to another Price Cap rise in October.

“Now, the Government needs to look at the long-term protection of the British people and their financial situation in the face of rising energy costs by urgently shifting away from fossil fuel gas to hydrogen, using the world-class gas networks already underground to supply our homes and businesses. This will create more secure energy supply to homes breaking free from the blood-stained hands of President Putin, and positioning the UK as the world’s leading hydrogen economy.

“Now is not the time to consider re-wiring Britain; ripping out boilers to be replaced with £10 grand a time heat pumps would be a folly when clean gas is just around the corner. Hydrogen heating will mean people can keep their gas boilers, cookers and fires; it is just the gas that is being changed. We did the same thing in the 1960s, moving from Town Gas to natural gas, now we will move from natural gas to hydrogen. The UK will lead the way, as it did before, giving the nation energy independence and protecting our people in the process.

“Consumers will avoid major disruption to their lives, minimise the costs associated with achieving net zero, at the same time help save the planet from climate change, and keep Putin’s gas in the ground. Avoiding a cost burden on the British public and removing reliance on foreign fossil fuel supplies seems like a no brainer to the heating industry, so we call on the government to think ahead and start the wheels in motion for developing the hydrogen economy now.”

Gillian Charlesworth, CEO, Building Research Establishment (BRE), comments:  

“Today’s announcement of further support for struggling households is welcome in the face of ever-increasing energy costs. Immediate financial support for the poorest households is certainly much needed, but British households also need solutions which protect them in the long term.”

“The UK has one of the oldest and most poorly insulated housing stocks in Europe, and over a third of our gas supply is currently used to heat our homes. This  unnecessarily inflates demand for natural gas, leading to higher bills for households.”

“Accelerating the roll out of insulation to poorly insulated homes is a simple solution that could significantly improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock. In the long term, investing in retrofit measures will translate into savings year on year, better shield households and businesses from any future energy price shock, and reduce the need for the taxpayer to intervene in the future.”

 

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The Inclusivity Charter

In response to the lack of women and other under-represented groups in the building services engineering sector – less than 1% of tradespeople are female – leading Awarding Organisation (AO), LCL Awards has launched an Inclusivity Charter for its centres, to encourage them to take steps to make their training facilities welcoming places, with flexible course options to suit people from all walks of life.

The Charter has been developed with Hattie Hasan, founder of all-female plumbing business, Stopcocks Women Plumbers, who recently received an MBE for her services to women in the plumbing and heating industry. Hattie also introduced the Register of Tradeswomen last year, a not-for-profit organisation that connects householders with tradeswomen and helps survivors of domestic abuse to get into skilled trades.

Officially launched to LCL Awards centres at the end of April, those that sign up to the Charter must first review where they are in-terms of inclusivity – from not tolerating offensive language, to developing courses which can be delivered online and/or in the evening and at weekends to suit the needs of parents (as well as people fitting training in around the day job). This ‘Inclusivity Charter Checklist’ will form part of LCL Awards’ auditing process, which all its accredited centres must complete annually.

To introduce centres to the Charter, LCL Awards held an online CPD workshop alongside Hattie, which covered a range of important topics. Hattie delivered a session on unconscious bias, a subject that’s very pertinent in the trades as the assumption is largely that construction workers are male. Other areas covered included: dealing with conflict, flexible course delivery and representation – how centres can demonstrate their inclusive values through their websites and other marketing material.

Hattie Hasan, said: “Training is the first step in most people’s careers, so getting this bit right in terms of ensuring people feel they can move into a sector that might not be considered ‘the norm’ is crucial. This is why I was so keen to work with LCL Awards when they approached me.

“Having experienced first-hand sexism and ignorance when it comes to being a ‘female plumber’, making a difference at this grass roots level should have real impact. If women and other under-represented groups have a good experience in the training centre, they will start their careers with more confidence. An inclusive environment increases diversity in training centres, LCL Awards centres can attract more learners from more different backgrounds and help to dispel myths that trainees may have too.”

Tracy Harker, Quality Assurance & Relationship Manager for LCL Awards, said: “We are passionate about demonstrating how LCL Awards centres treat people with respect, while encouraging as many trainees through the doors as possible. The launch of our Charter cements these core values, creating a framework that centres can use to take active steps to implement inclusive practices.

“Ultimately, the UK is experiencing a skills shortage. There are countless opportunities in the building services engineering (BSE) sector – it’s an exciting industry at the forefront of change when it comes to future-proof, low carbon technologies. At the moment, the majority of BSE workers are white, male and middle aged. To move our industry forward we need more diverse inputs, which can only serve to improve the sector and society as a whole.”

Mark Krull, LCL Awards’ Director, said: “LCL Awards has an important and influential part to play in actively attracting new candidates to BSE trades, accommodating everyone who’d like to join us in the important and rewarding work we do. Our Charter has been designed to formalise requirements we’d expect from our training centres.

“We’re not playing lip-service here – centres who sign up to the charter will be expected to uphold high standards and will be audited. The Charter will become part of our equality module.”

LCL Awards centres that have met the conditions of the Charter and are continuously striving to improve the inclusivity of their training provision, will receive a plaque. Trainees can identify these centres through LCL Awards’ Inclusivity Charter logo. The Charter itself will be displayed in-centre and on websites.

LCL Awards Inclusivity Charter

  • LCL Awards centres are committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive environment where both learners and centre staff feel safe, heard and supported.
  • We do not tolerate offensive language, such as sexist or racist comments – from trainers or trainees.
  • We consider the needs of all learners, in order to enhance learning experiences and increase opportunity.
  • We are actively exploring a range of training options, using creativity and innovation to improve engagement.
  • Our ambition is to help as many people as possible access the building services engineering sector; to improve lives, improve the sector and combat skills shortages.
  • We believe that inclusion creates an environment where everyone is valued, feels valued and are therefore is able to achieve their highest potential.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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DHF contributes to Build UK’s new Common Assessment Standard

Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) has announced its support for the new Common Assessment Standard, created by representative organisation for the construction industry, Build UK.  And, as a member of Build UK, DHF has contributed to its formation.
The new Common Assessment Standard, which has been endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council, means that sub-contractors need only be certified once a year by a single recognised assessment body before tendering for work with main contractors and clients who specify it.  This is a significant improvement on the current system where different main contractors insist on their own prequalification questionnaires being completed meaning organisations are forced to duplicate time and effort.  Build UK estimates this wasteful process costs the construction industry as much as £1 billion each year.
The Common Assessment Standard, which is regularly reviewed, comprises an industry-agreed question set based on existing PQ questionnaires, including PAS 91, and corresponding assessment standards, with two levels of certification: desktop and site-based.  Companies apply to a Recognised Assessment Body for the certification level that is most appropriate for their business based on a range of factors including trade, size, and the requirements of their clients.  For businesses that employ fewer than 10 employees and have a turnover of under £1.8 million or a balance sheet total less than £1.8 million, the assessment standards will be applied in a proportionate way.  A guide to the question set has been published to help companies prepare for an audit by a Recognised Assessment Body.  The Common Assessment Standard has been made possible thanks to a data-sharing agreement with four recognised assessment bodies: Achilles, CHAS, Constructionline and CQMS.
Main contractors using the Common Assessment Standard include Balfour Beatty, Bouygues UK, Clancy Group, HS2, Mace and Sir Robert McAlpine.
“DHF is a great supporter of the Common Assessment Standard and encourages eligible members to sign up to this excellent initiative,” explains DHF’s Head of Commercial Operations, Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens.  “We have contributed to the questions included in the PQQ (Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire) and hope that members will benefit from a standardised form.  This standard goes some way to raising the standards in the industry, so members do not have to complete a series of PQQ’s, the one is shared with all companies signing up to this great initiative.  The new approach will transform the prequalification process and make it work better for both suppliers and clients.”
Door & Hardware Federation
01827 52337
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THE ROUTE TO DECARBONISING CONSTRUCTION

Michael Bennett and Amber Wright of the law firm Shoesmiths explain the importance of reducing embodied carbon in construction – putting forward the case for legislative reform and how new technologies, methods and contracts are supporting the living sector’s move to net zero.

To date much of the government’s focus to meet its net zero targets has been on creating more energy efficient homes and buildings. While important, steps must also be taken to improve sustainability throughout the lifespan of a building.

One way to do this is by reducing embodied carbon emissions during the construction of buildings.

Embodied carbon

Embodied carbon is the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted through producing materials. For example, embodied carbon may be created in the production of clinker, used to make cement, or by the burning of gas to make steel in a blast furnace.

Embodied carbon is particularly significant in construction, as the production of steel and cement makes up between 16% and 18% of global CO2 emissions annually. There are currently no mandatory UK limits on how much embodied carbon can be emitted during the construction process.

In February 2022, a Private Members Bill was introduced into Parliament with the aim of monitoring and limiting embodied carbon emissions in construction projects.

When presenting the Carbon Emissions (Buildings) Bill to Parliament, Duncan Baker MP stated that a third of carbon emissions come from construction, with 40m to 50m tonnes of greenhouse gas emitted annually as a result of the construction, upkeep, refurbishment and demolition of new and existing buildings and infrastructure. Baker stated this is known as embodied carbon, “so called because the materials that we build are the physical embodiment of such greenhouse gas emissions”.

Regulation

The Bill sought to set limits on embodied carbon emissions in the construction of buildings and to require that the whole life carbon emissions of buildings be reported. The Bill’s passage through Parliament was cut short and was withdrawn after its first reading.

While it is rare for a Private Members Bill to progress through Parliament and become law, the Bill’s introduction reaffirmed the importance of regulating embodied carbon emissions in construction.

In 2021, the UK Green Building Council launched a ‘Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap’. Over 100 organisations contributed to the Roadmap and one of the recommendations to achieve net zero across the sector is the regulation of embodied carbon for new buildings and major refurbishments.

The Roadmap recognises that the measurement and mitigation of embodied carbon is currently voluntary and recommends introducing limits for embodied carbon across all sectors by 2027.

Many in the industry have shown support for the proposed Building Regulation amendment ‘Part Z’ and Approved Document Z. The documents were put together by members of the industry as a proof of concept of the regulations that are needed to put legal limits on the embodied carbon emissions of major projects, while outlining requirements on the assessment of whole life carbon emissions.

What else could be done?

Another option that has found favour in several countries is the requirement for developers to undertake carbon impact calculations during planning.

The calculations could then be used by a planning committee either as a criteria for granting approval, or by imposing conditions in relation to carbon offset. To ensure ongoing project viability for developers, any such approach needs to be flexible and fair.

New technologies are also being developed all the time that could significantly reduce the levels of embodied carbon. For example, JCB recently announced that it is targeting the sale of hydrogen powered diggers by the end of 2022. There are also options for low carbon concrete and zero carbon steel production that could significantly alter the emissions calculations for a new development.

Some may argue that adopting new technologies, materials or construction methods is a more effective and realistic option, as the planning stage is often too early to commit to embodied carbon emissions limits considering a building’s design at this stage may not contain sufficient detail.

Contracting for embodied carbon emissions

Whether limits on embodied carbon in construction projects become a legal requirement or the industry continues to strive to increase sustainability, drafting to achieve certain environmental objectives is likely to become a common feature of construction contracts.

Contracts can set out clear targets for embodied carbon emissions, how these will be calculated and monitored, as well as allocating the risk and consequences of these targets not being achieved.

Other options to improve the environmental credentials of a project may include:

Auditing at the tender stage to ensure minimum standards are met by the supply chain in relation to sustainability.

Contractual provisions requiring a supply chain to meet specified net zero project targets and offering incentives if emissions can be further reduced.

Requiring a supply chain to adhere to sustainable working practices throughout a project. For example, reducing the carbon footprint of plant and equipment, using sustainable materials, promoting biodiversity and setting carbon limits on staff travel and material sourcing.

Support for sustainable construction

Sustainability is on both the construction industry and government’s agenda and it’s likely that those operating in the sector are going to come under increasing pressure to reduce the carbon emissions of projects from funders, future purchasers or tenants.

The industry is, however, responding and the advent of new technologies, materials or innovative contracts show the progress that is being made. Decarbonising construction is reliant on accelerating these efforts, while moving on from just making buildings more energy efficient.

Reducing embodied carbon emissions must be considered critical on the journey to net zero.

 

Source: Shoesmiths

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The Challenging Elizabethan Line

Today’s the day: after some 13 years of construction Crossrail’s Elizabeth line will finally open.

The Crossrail project first broke ground in May 2009, with the launch of the first pile at the site of the new Canary Wharf station. Tunnelling began in May 2012 and more recent years have seen the project’s stations completed and a move to operational testing.

So what have been some of the biggest engineering challenges and triumphs during construction?

Piling at Canary Wharf

One of the project’s first tasks in back in 2009 was creating the station box at Canary Wharf − a 256m long, 30m wide, six storey deep structure rising out of the water from the below the river bed.

Canary Wharf Contractors dewatered the lower aquifer around the site to create a drier underground environment to speed piling by two or three times. Building this tied cantilever cofferdam required some heavy duty piling.

Two Giken silent piling rigs worked eastwards and westwards away from one another above the water along the north side of the box, rotating 1.2m diameter tubular steel piles down to 18.5m into the dock bed. Canary Wharf Contractors says this is the first time this machinery has done this kind of piling in the UK.

Construction work on the station box was completed in March 2012, five months ahead of schedule.

Connaught Cofferdam work

Reconstruction of the Victorian Connaught Tunnel for reuse by Crossrail was also completed ahead of schedule in September 2013.

Cofferdams that were installed in the dock to allow access to the crown of the tunnel were removed in time for the dock to be used to allow ships to access the Excel exhibition centre for a bi-annual defence show.

Tunnelling

Tunnelling work completed in June 2015, with Crossrail releasing drone footage of the completed tunnels for the railway.

Eight Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines (TBMs) bored 42km of 6.2m-diameter rail tunnels under London. Another 13.5km of new passenger, platform and service tunnels were constructed within the new Crossrail stations using sprayed concrete lining.

Six of the TBMs were earth pressure balance tunnelling machines weighing 980t and measuring 148m in length. They were employed to dig through the London clays, sands and gravels that prevail beneath the capital.

Two 110m mixed-shield slurry machines (Mary and Sophia) tunnelled through the wet chalk and flint beneath the River Thames for the section between North Woolwich and the Plumstead portal in south east London.

In total, the tunnels are lined with over 220,000 concrete segments weighing 3.4t each. In each section, seven segments and a key stone slot together to form a completed tunnel ring.

Improvements to TBM technology – including real-time settlement control at the cutting faces – gave Crossrail the confidence to set maximum face loss limits as low as 0.5% to ensure the impact on the surface would be acceptable.

 

Track installation

The permanent track for the Elizabeth line was officially completed in September 2017.

The final piece of track was laid 35m below in the eastbound tunnel of the new Whitechapel Elizabeth line station. Track quality control engineer Ellen McGuinness affixed the final rail clips to the track.

Offsite solutions for Liverpool Street station

Threaded into the urban fabric of the City of London, Liverpool Street Elizabeth line station provided unique challenges to the teams working on its construction.

Built by Laing O’Rourke, the station was transferred to Transport for London (TfL) in July 2021.

At 34m below ground at platform level, Liverpool Street is the deepest of the new central London stations and has a total of 15 escalators and seven lifts.

A maze of sewers, existing Tube lines and the Post Office Railway had to be navigated for the station, while nearly 4,000 skeletons from the Bedlam burial site and thousands of artefacts dating back to Roman times were also discovered.

Work was running six months behind schedule due to tunnelling delays, but the Laing O’Rourke team were able to recover this time using offsite solutions and a design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) approach. This enabled 17 months’ programme activity to be completed in 11 months.

The grooved and angled ceilings in both ticket halls, for example, were formed from pre-cast panels, manufactured at Laing O’Rourke’s Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction in Nottinghamshire.

Blockade success

Crossrail completed 96% of all tasks scheduled for its six week blockade in 2020.

It was put in place to help recover some of the time lost due to Covid-19, lockdown and subsequent working restrictions such as social distancing.

In total 1,235 of a total 1,286 milestones were completed, according to Crossrail data shared with NCE.

Works completed during the construction blockade included:

  • 58 Tunnel Ladders installed
  • 28 Bent Bolt OHLE replacements
  • 27 LV Power corrections
  • 15 Platform Screen Door Air Gaps
  • 8 Cross Passage Leaks completed

Whitechapel station logistics

Contractors charged with delivering Crossrail’s Whitechapel station revealed the complex challenges they had to overcome.

TfL took control of the station following the completion of work by a joint venture between Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall and Vinci (BBMV).

In a video released by BBMV, the project’s section manager Rob Langford emphasised the logistical complexity of constructing the station.

In particular, Langford pointed to the logistical challenge of working above an operational railway while delivering the station.

Delays at Bond Street station

Despite months of reassurances that Bond Street station was”catching up fast” with the rest of the Crossrail project, in February it was confirmed that the problem-hit station would not open with the rest of the Elizabeth line.

It is a mined station, 28m below ground with platforms of up to 255m. Two new ticket halls at street level – one at Davies Street, the other at Hanover Square – will lead passengers to the platforms.

The station has long been identified as a problem point for the project, with chief executive Mark Wild admitting in May 2019 that it would be likely to open at a different time to the rest of the line. Wild said tunnelling problems on the Bond Street project dating back to 2014 were behind the delay.

Completing civils works at the station delayed mechanical and electrical equipment installation by about a year, and delays to the installation of two large tunnel ventilation fans set work further back.

Then, of course, came Crossrail Ltd’s parting of ways with the station’s main contractor Costain Skanska JV (CSJV). In June 2020, Crossrail Ltd announced that CSJV would no longer work on the job, with NCE later revealing that the contractor was paid £19M to close out the contract.

Wild later explained that CSJV was taken off the Bond Street job because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: New Civil Engineer

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