Due for completion at the end of April, the £11.6m Enterprise Centre on the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) Norwich campus aims to push the use of British timber on a large-scale – 3,400 sq m – project to its limits, writes Tom Ravenscroft.
Adapt Low Carbon Group, a UEA enterprise set up to promote low-carbon business practice, wanted to create an exemplar scheme as a catalyst for others to adopt bio-renewable materials. Architect Archetype and contractor Morgan Sindall had to convince the supply chain to adapt to construct a building from local timber.
For Archetype, timber was the natural option for designing a sustainable building, and to reduce embodied carbon sourcing locally was key. After reading a report by InCrops, a research team based at UEA, which highlighted the potential for local timber to be used as a structural building material, the architect set out not only to specify timber from the UK, but from East Anglia specifically.
“Using this untapped resource has the obvious benefit of reducing carbon, and could perhaps create an industry in the local area,” explains Ben Humphries, associate director at Archetype.
As the local timber industry produces low-grade fencepost and pulp, there was no existing supply chain, so sourcing local wood was a challenge. First, the Forestry Commission had to be convinced of the potential benefits, then Cygnum, a timber-frame company, had to be persuaded to work with timber from outside its existing supply chain. Finally, Thomson Sawmills, a local timber mill, had to accept the loss of productivity caused by altering the mill’s usual set-up.
The result is that 70% of the building’s timber panels are constructed from Corsican pine, sourced from Thetford Forest, just 30 miles from site. However, as there is nowhere to grade this timber in the UK, it had to be sent to Ireland, where it was processed and the remainder of the material for the frame – Sitka spruce – was sourced.
“It’s still a massive success,” says Humphries. He acknowledges the embodied carbon of the building may have been lower if all the timber had come from Ireland, as it would have only traveled one way, but “proving locally grown timber from East Anglia, in this case Corsican pine, can be used structurally was equally important,” he says.
Suffolk Corsican pine and Irish Sitka spruce stud work, North American I-joists and Austrian glulam form part of the building’s structure
Local timber was also specified for other elements. Perhaps most importantly, the 7.5 metre signature columns that form the entrance canopy are constructed from glue-laminated larch, also from Suffolk.
“It was important to the project’s message to have this visual element sourced locally,” says Humphries.
Reclaimed oak from Norfolk forms much of the building’s cladding: African iroko recycled from the university’s chemistry department, where it was originally lab desks, is used on the front of the building.
However, not all of the timber could be sourced from East Anglia or, even Great Britain. The OSB was sourced from Ireland, as it was not economically feasible. Internal glulam beams that form part of the hybrid frame came from Austria, as buying locally would have been around 40% more costly.
As Humphries explains: “Value judgements had to be made.”
The I-beams for the first-floor and roof construction are also imported. The architect had wanted to use Scottish timber but this was not economically viable, so Polish timber was agreed. However, an unfortunate breakdown in communication led to the sub-contractor buying American timber from its usual supplier. For Archetype this episode demonstrates the difficulty of deconstructing existing supply chains and the vigilance needed to specify sustainably.
But the Enterprise Centre shows that, with a dedicated client, architect, contractor and with local support, it is possible to construct large-scale projects with British timber
The 2 million square foot tower built by Broad Group, which is owned by Chinese air conditioning magnate Zhang Yue, contains 800 apartments and enough office space for 4,000 workers.
For more international stories visit the CIOB’s global construction website GCR
The building was originally planned to be 97 stories high, but had to be reduced due to proximity to a nearby airport, the company said while publicising the completion of the tower earlier this month.
Zhang Yue is the man behind a proposed 838-metre-high prefabricated tower, called Sky City, which broke ground in 2013 and was supposed to be finished in a matter of months but has been stalled.
Broad says it erected this new tower next to its plant in Changsha, Hunan province, at a rate of three floors every day – dubbing it “the new normal” for construction technique.
Broad claims its prefabrication technique is environmentally friendly because it avoided 15,000 truck deliveries and eliminates dust. Prefabrication also decreased the wasteful use of raw materials and saved time and money.
The tower uses quadruple-thick glass and 99.9% sealed construction, which will help save energy and reduce carbon emissions, the company said.
On Thursday 19 March, the ICE West Indies Local Association (ICEWILA) held another seminar entitled "Rivers, Engineering & Society". This was the first seminar for 2015 and was delivered by Professor Gyan Shrivastava of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of the West Indies (UWI).
The seminar focused on the role of rivers in society and how both positive and negative impacts have influenced the design of modern drainage and flood control mechanisms.
The seminar refreshed the audience of 25 on the basic theories in fluid mechanics and how these theories still apply to the engineering of rivers today. The audience was particularly interested on how the ecology of a river contributes to its operation and how this must be accounted for in river mechanics.
The seminar closed with a short discourse on the Panama Canal. Photographs were shown of ICEWILA's visit to the Panama Canal in April 2014. As is customary, the ICEWILA Chairman engaged the audience in an interactive "Prof's Quiz" where the audience was asked questions in order to determine if the learning outcomes of the seminar had been met.
This has become a regular feature of ICEWILA seminars. The audience then fielded questions on the presented topic and a healthy debate followed.
ICEWILA hereby expresses its heartfelt gratitude to Professor Shrivastava for speaking at the event
Announcing the launch of the new suite of CDM 2015 training programmes from ICE Training.
The Construction (Design and Management) 2015 Regulations (CDM 2015) for professionals working in health and safety have been laid before Parliament and, subject to approval, will be officially mandated on 6 April.
ICE Training has launched a new suite of training programmes that focus specifically on the new regulations, their specifications, and how to implement them across industry. The programmes have been peer reviewed by the ICE Health and Safety panel.
Benefits of attending
• Be clear on the differences between CDM 2007 and CDM 2015
• Know how to make a smooth transition from the 2007 Standards
• Choose from a selection of programmes developed for different areas of specialty, ensuring you can confidently apply the new regulations in your workplace
• Receive specialist guidance on how to build your capability in implementing the highest standards of health and safety in the workplace
Training courses are now available for booking and will run from April 2015, when the new regulations come into force.
The American Concrete Institute announces the availability of a new invaluable publication for concrete industry designers, suppliers, and contractors—Legal Issues in Concrete Construction, Second Edition, authored by by Jeffrey W. Coleman, P.E., FACI, Attorney at Law.
The author provides interpretations of the courts’ findings and contrasts the decisions with other results where possible. This second edition of Legal Issues in Concrete Construction contains over 150 cases—more than three times the number of cases as the first edition, and it assembles the cases into 23 chapters.
Expanded to over 260 pages, this new edition is reorganized around key topics – Cracking, Load Tickets, Responsibility for Mix, and more. These unique topics can be found only in this publication. The first chapter provides a basic primer on concrete, and is followed by chapters organized around specific construction and legal topics.
As an added bonus for reader convenience and reference, the complete report "ACI 132R-14 - Guide for Responsibility in Concrete Construction" has been included as Appendix C. This book will be an invaluable resource for concrete industry designers, suppliers, and contractors.
A licensed structural engineer with more than 30 years of experience as a practicing attorney, Jeffrey W. Coleman has collected legal cases specific to concrete construction and presents them in a useable format for contractors and design professionals.
Network Rail will be under close scrutiny this Easter as it prepares to deploy a 14,000 strong “army” to deliver engineering works at sites including London Bridge, Watford and Reading and on the approach to London Liverpool Street.
The pressure is on for the rail operator to complete its planned four days of improvement works on time, following over runs outside two mainline London termini over Christmas.
Passenger Focus manager Guy Dangerfield said: “There must be no repeat of what happened at Christmas when not only did engineering works overrun but contingency arrangements were completely inadequate.”
Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said: “We have thoroughly reviewed our Easter improvement works and worked closely with the train operating companies. The industry has good contingency plans in place that will put passengers first.”
At London Bridge work will continue over Easter to track, signalling and platforms as part of the £6.5Bn Thameslink upgrade. Watford will see a bridge replaced south of the station, along with the replacement of track and renewal of signals and junctions.
At Reading new lines will be built under a viaduct to separate passenger services from freight trains, along with the installation of a new signalling system. And on the approach to London Liverpool Street new overhead lines will be installed at Chadwell Heath, Romford and Ilford.
At Christmas thousands of passengers were forced to make alternative arrangements or faced long delays completing their journeys after works failed to complete on time near King’s Cross and Paddington stations.
Mr Carne instructed the company’s infrastructure projects director to provide a report into the sequence of events and associated decision making that led to the problems.
He also called for “a broader industry-wide review into the timing of our major works programmes” and hinted that major rail engineering may never take place over Christmas again.
Design of a scheme to upgrade the M4 around Newport will start straight away following award of a £750M ECI contract to a Costain led joint venture.
But environmental group Friends of the Earth Cymru, which has criticized the project, says there is still no certainty that shovels will enter the soil.
The Welsh Government scheme is for 24km of new motorway to be built between junction 23 of the existing M4 at Magor and junction 29 at Castleton. The proposed new alignment will carry three lanes of traffic in each direction to the south of Newport.
Costain chief executive Andrew Wyllie said: “We are delighted to be developing this critical infrastructure scheme for the Welsh Government.” Costain has a 50% stake in the winning three way joint venture with Vinci Construction Grands Projects and Taylor Woodrow.
A Public Inquiry is expected to take place in late 2016 or early 2017. Upon successful completion of statutory processes construction could start in spring 2018.
But Friends of the Earth Cymru director Gareth Clubb says there is no certainty that the project will get past the Public Inquiry or environmental assessment processes.
“Construction of the new route would be highly damaging to several sites of special scientific interest and a special area of conservation which it passes through,” he said.
He added that the Welsh Government’s projections for traffic growth are “proving to be out of touch with reality”.
“The congestion on the M4 around Newport is a peak hour issue. We therefore want the Government to investigate ways to make sure commuters travel by means other than the car before committing to this expensive new motorway,” he said.
Transport infrastructure specialist Colas will be exhibiting its latest innovations in traffic management, intelligent transport solutions, safety barriers and integrated infrastructure at Traffex 2015.
The show, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham from 21-23 April, will see the firm’s intelligent transport solutions team launch a new generation of full colour, scalable matrix signs (pictured) at stand E12.
Proven in continental Europe, these signs are soon expected to be illuminating motorist’s journeys across the UK.
Visitors to Traffex will also have the chance to see first-hand Colas’ innovative safety barrier and impact protection vehicle, which features advance warning radar. The firm’s team will also be on hand to talk visitors through its involvement in one of the UK’s largest traffic management schemes on the M3/M25 intersection.
The company described both of these developments as major advances in safety for road workers.
Meanwhile for those interested in urban environments, the team will be available to discuss the principle of integrated infrastructure, highlighting how combining street lighting and traffic signaling can help reduce clutter and costs.
Colas marketing manager Neil Roberts said: “Colas is an ambitious, award-winning business, delivering sustainable solutions for the design, building and maintenance of the UK's transport infrastructure. We have unrivaled expertise based on our long history and the strength we derive from being part of the International Colas Group.
“The Group has world renowned R&D facilities, giving us access to innovative new products, processes and concepts.”
The Highways Agency’s A5-M1 Link Road project involves construction of a new 4.5km two lane dual carriageway, including three junctions, to improve east-west connections between the A5 and M1.
Following completion in spring 2017 the £162.1M scheme will provide an alternative route for long distance traffic currently having to pass through Dunstable.
“Businesses and motorists will benefit from our investment and the extra capacity it brings,” said Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
Highways Agency senior project manager Paul Unwin added: “The new A5-M1 Link aims to increase accessibility between the north-south strategic routes, reducing the level of traffic using the A5 and providing relief to communities within Houghton Regis.”
The main contractors are Costain and Carillion, working as a joint venture, and AECOM is the scheme designer. The project also involves four bridges passing over the A5-M1 Link. The first phase of work will focus on construction of a new B579 Luton Road and a new overbridge at Sundon Road, as well as temporary link roads.
Central Bedfordshire Council has contributed £5M towards the cost of the scheme.
The Council’s director of community services Marcel Coiffait said: “This new link road is good news for central Bedfordshire. It will open up the opportunity for new housing and business developments, attract inward investment, create jobs, and take away traffic from town centres.”
A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people on Tuesday in Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria's Borno state, military and hospital sources said, three days after a multiple bomb attack in the city killed more than 50 people.
Maiduguri is the birthplace of radical Islamist Boko Haram insurgents who have been fighting for six years to revive a medieval Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria. The militants tried to seize the city at the end of January, killing more than 100 people in the attack, and again in early February.
On Tuesday, a loud blast rocked Maiduguri just after 4 p.m. and a military source at the scene said a woman had detonated her bomb at a roundabout near the Monday Market, which has been attacked numerous times before.
Passer-by Abdulaziz Olawale, who was a few meters (yards) away when the bomb went off, said he believed it had been the work of a female suicide bomber, and that he had seen her charred and dismembered body.
"The place was very busy. Many people were waiting to pick up taxis and some were walking down the road when the blast occurred," Olawale said.
The city of about 2 million people was hit by several bombs on Saturday, one of them inside the Monday Market, in an attack that bore the hallmarks of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Suspected Boko Haram militants also attacked the town of Ngamdu on the border of Yobe and Borno states on Tuesday, killing at least a dozen people.
Still, the insurgents have lately been thrown onto the defensive after Chadian and Nigerien troops launched offensives in coordination with the Nigerian army, successfully reclaiming some important towns in Borno.
Nigerian government forces have also pushed the militants out of Adamawa state and regained ground in Yobe,
The last two members of a group of U.S. healthcare workers whose colleague is being treated for the Ebola virus returned on Wednesday from Sierra Leone to the United States, where they are being monitored for possible exposure to the deadly virus.
Their repatriation brought the total number of Americans brought back from the West African nation to 18 since last Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday night.
"They were part of the same group that have been coming back slowly, said CDC spokeswoman Jennifer McQuiston.
Neither of the two healthcare workers brought back Wednesday has tested positive for Ebola, but they are being monitored because they might have been exposed to a colleague who has contracted it.
The infected healthworker is being treated at a biocontainment unit run by the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, McQuiston said. The CDC has not yet said how the initial patient was exposed to the disease.
The others are being observed at several different locations in the United States, including Atlanta, Maryland and Nebraska.
Most of the healthworkers were employed by the aid group Partners in Health, though CDC has not divulged their names.
McQuiston did not say where the two who arrived on Wednesday entered the country, or where they were being sent for monitoring.