Steelwork
installation
begins for
Antarctic
wharf
Following two months of deconstructing the
old Biscoe wharf, the first steel frame of the
new 74m-long wharf structure at the British
Antarctic Survey (BAS) base at Rothera has
been lowered into place.
Divers completed the final part of the
wharf deconstruction along the sea bed,
making way for the first 55t frame to be
6 NSC
June 19
installed. During a 12-hour operation, it
was lowered carefully into position onto
temporary guides from a 300t-capacity
crane.
The project team had to fine tune
the frame, setting it to within the 40mm
tolerance. This precision engineering was
critical to ensuring the alignment for the
Photo: Adam Roper
new wharf, which will provide safe berthing
and efficient operations for the new RRS Sir
David Attenborough.
In total, 20 frames will make up
the wharf ’s skeleton, with seven due
for installation during this season by
construction partner BAM and technical
advisor Ramboll.
BAM Project Engineer Ian Wenkenbach
said: “Two years of planning has come to
bear fruit with the successful installation
of the critical first frame. The full-scale
trial assembly and lift undertaken back
in September in the UK ensured that the
operation here in Antarctica went according
to plan.
“To install the frames, which form the
skeleton of the new structure, we are using
a hydraulic jacking system, a concept
developed in-house to allow accurate
levelling of the frames after installation, as
well as specially designed lifting frames,
support structures and access platforms.”
Hampshire-based Four-Tees Engineers is
fabricating and helping to erect the project’s
steelwork.
The commissioning of the RRS Sir David
Attenborough is part of a major government
polar infrastructure investment programme
designed to keep Britain at the forefront of
world-leading research in Antarctica and
the Arctic.
This £200m commitment represents the
UK government’s largest investment in polar
science since the 1980s. It includes a range
of modernisation across the BAS estate.
Kiernan Structural Steel (KSS) has
celebrated 30 years of business by inviting
its clients, suppliers and employees
to a factory tour and an evening of
entertainment at a nearby hotel.
Founded in 1989 in Longford, Ireland by
husband and wife team Frank and Dolores
Kiernan, the company began its journey
using a small shed as its production base.
The company’s first projects were
agricultural jobs in the local area. Over
the intervening years KSS moved into
industrial work and gradually enlarged its
workforce. Today it has one of the largest
structural steel fabrication works in the
Republic of Ireland.
KSS's current core of clients are in the
pharmaceutical sector and data centre
operators, although it also specialises in
warehouses, multi-storey car parks, offices
and sports arenas.
It has recently completed the new
Curragh Racecourse grandstand, which
features a 45m-deep cantilevering roof.
News
Office construction volumes in London
are up 12% compared to six months ago,
with 37 new schemes breaking ground,
adding 325,000m2 of floor space into the
development pipeline.
According to the latest Deloitte London
Office Crane Survey for summer 2019, the
capital’s commercial sector has remained
steady despite Brexit uncertainties, and
total office space under construction
between October 2018 and March 2019
amounted to 1.2M/m2.
Encouragingly, the volume of new
starts is also the highest since 2016, during
the lead-up to the EU referendum. With
320,000m2 of new office construction
activity across 37 new schemes, the volume
is 38% higher than 2018.
Deloitte Real Estate Director Mike
Cracknell said: “London’s office market
remains resilient in the face of uncertainty
as we witness an encouraging increase in
new construction starts. This is testament
to developer’s continued confidence in
London’s office leasing market long-term.
“The City of London continues to
dominate construction activity with
600,000m2 across 33 schemes. This is over
half (51%) of the total volume across the
capital. The City has also seen a shift in
favour of large-scale refurbishments versus
new builds as developers began work on
eight refurbishments which will deliver
74,000m2 of Grade A space.
“Office development in the West End is
up 10% compared to last year and currently
has 176,000m2 under construction across
27 schemes.”
London office
construction up despite
Brexit uncertainty
Irish steelwork contractor celebrates 30th anniversary
/Construction#Mobile_cranes
/Construction#Tolerances
/Construction
/Accuracy_of_steel_fabrication#Trial_erection
/Fabrication
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Fabrication
/Retail_buildings#Distribution_warehouses
/Car_parks
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Construction
/Multi-storey_office_buildings