Westfield Stratford City completes construction

Known as the gateway to the London 2012 Olympic Park, the £1.45bn Westfield Stratford City retail, leisure and business destination has officially celebrated completing its construction phase with a commemorative event held on the site.

The retailers and occupiers of the site’s 300 shops now have six months to fit-out their premises prior to the scheme’s opening this September.

Work to clear the former industrial site started in 2008 and initially Westfield started the base build with the installation of 14,000 structural piles, each driven 22m into the ground.

Once foundations had been laid Severfield-Reeve Structures was able to begin its steelwork programme which involved erecting some 44,000t of steel (see NSC May 2010), all of which was completed last year.

Keith Whitmore, Director of Design and Construction at Westfield, said: “We are delighted to deliver the base build on time and on budget. We have applied Westfield’s unique range of expertise and talent right across the project, and our team can be truly proud of their achievement.”

Structural steelwork was chosen as the main framing material for its speed and flexibility, added Mr Whitmore. “With steel you can change things quickly and we have to be flexible around our clients demands.”