Construction News. Fit-out works have commenced!

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1 Construction News Issue 10 Spring 2011 Helpline: The East-West Link, a public covered space. In conjunction with English Heritage, it was agreed that the old scars of the assembly sheds should be left to highlight the historical background of the buildings. Fit-out works have commenced! We ve done it. For the last three years we have been working on the transformation of the Granary Complex into a new home for the University of the Arts London ready for their 4,500 staff and students to move into this September. The University buildings have achieved, what s known in the business as, practical completion - well done BAM Construct. There is still a lot more to do. The University of the Arts London and their contractor Overbury commenced fitting out the spaces and bringing in equipment from April in readiness for their use. The University s new home is made up of three different buildings a brand new purpose built set of studios, workshops and performance theatre in what was once the old railway assembly sheds, a retained façade construction in the Eastern Transit Shed, and the Granary Building. Once on the English Heritage s at risk register the Grade II listed Granary building has been fully restored and refurbished. With the estate officially open from September this year the arrival of the world-famous art college at King s Cross will bring other benefits, including public access for the first time to numerous areas of the historic Eastern Goods Yard. The following contractors are working in partnership to deliver King s Cross:

2 Contract Complete! cont. Work on King s Boulevard and Goods Way has started, connecting the campus directly to the King s Cross and St Pancras transport hub. Initially, King s Boulevard will be pedestrianised, and will be open to the public by September. Other major pieces of infrastructure have also been installed as part of the project including a utilities spine from the Energy Centre in the north, up to the new vehicle bridge across the Regent s Canal. Not only does this serve the University, but it will also provide utilities connections to many other development plots helping to create a well serviced site. All sorts of civil engineering works have also been undertaken, including the new bridge, major retaining structures, surface and foul sewers, roads and painstaking laying of historic granite cobbles as part of the landscaping and public realm works. Some interesting facts: The gross area of the University buildings is around 430,000 sq ft or almost 10 acres. More than 1.3 million oak timber blocks have been individually laid in the covered street floor Approximately 20,000 cubic metres of concrete has been used enough to fill eight Olympic sized swimming pools. Over 150 listed building consents and reserved matter conditions have been submitted and approved At full capacity the air handling units combined can shift 95,000 litres of air a second Granary Square With the Granary Building now complete we have turned our attention to finishing Granary Square. At the moment we re focusing on foundation works to create a large pump room next to the new bridge. Here we will be installing pumping equipment to serve the 1,080 water jets for the fountains which are being installed in front of the building. We are also transforming the access to the Regent s Canal by creating a wide set of south facing shallow steps and new terraces. The public realm in Granary Square has been designed by Townshend Landscape Architects, the street furniture by Paul de Monchaux and fountain design by The Fountain Workshop. Granary Square will be completed by Summer View down the University s covered street Installing the terraced steps to the Regent s Canal

3 Heating, Cooling and Powering the University The energy efficient mechanical and electrical systems for the University are in their final testing phase. They will soon be ready to contribute to our site-wide target of cutting carbon emissions by at least 50% relative to 2005 levels through energy-efficient building design, the application of the latest technologies and connection to a site-wide Combined Heat and Power (CHP) driven hot water distribution network. All our buildings will connect to the hot water distribution network which will be fed from the Energy Centre (completed some time ago). The power generated by the CHP plant will also be used to off-set electrical supplies from the National Grid. The cooling demands of the office buildings, which represent the largest energy requirement on the site, will be met by a combination of absorption chillers fed from the district heat network (trigeneration) with any extra demand met from efficient mechanical chillers. Cooling systems will use the best chilled beam technology in order to minimise energy use. Constant temperature heating circulation pumps King s Boulevard King s Boulevard works started in September The interim retaining structure to the east of King s Boulevard has been completed and this has enabled the works to proceed while Network Rail are still occupying Zone A (they are due to leave in 2012). Temporary sheet piling has been installed at the south end of King s Boulevard to protect the gas mains from disturbance during the future construction of the subway to Building B2. The lines of the future piling of King s Boulevard were excavated in autumn last year to remove obstructions prior to the earthwork operations. View looking north showing the works underway to create King s Boulevard The Boulevard levels are being built up using soils from the development site to create a sloping route from King s Cross Station to Goods Way. The large diameter attenuation drainage is nearly finished and this will be followed by the large gas mains and the district heating.

4 Aerial View looking West - May 2011 Camley Street Natural Park St Pancras International Pancras Road Gasholder No. 8 1 Granary Square King s Boulevard King s Cross Station Shared Service Yard entrance Goods Way Kings Place

5 Goods Way carriageway works 1 Public realm works around the University Energy Centre 2 Public East-West Link 3 4 University of the Arts London 2 5 Building R4 3 University s covered street York Way 4 University s Performance Theatre 5 Simon Hazelgrove

6 Plot R4 Building R4 started on site in December and was the first residential building on the development to be brought forward. It will contain 117 high quality affordable homes as well as commercial units on the ground floor. The thoughtfully planned building, designed by PRP Architects, will be handed over to our Affordable Housing Partner, One Housing Group. Almost a third of the units will be for families and all have been designed to meet Lifetime Homes standards. The Contractor delivering R4 is Carillion Construction Limited. As the photo below shows, the concrete frame of the building is rapidly taking shape and the first six storeys are in place. We will also be delivering significant public realm improvements alongside this building, both within the site and along York Way including a new Zebra Crossing. Construction is due to complete in July Interim Service Road (ISR), March 2011 Access Reconfiguration The Interim Service Road was opened in January 2011 and this enabled the closure of Battle Bridge Road to Network Rail traffic and secure the site for the construction of King s Boulevard. Work to the south side of Goods Way has been completed and now switches to the northern side of the carriageway enabling the diversion of the existing utilities and the provision of new utilities (district heating, electricity and communications) linked to the canal bridge. In January 2011 a section of Pancras Road was closed to southbound traffic from Goods Way to allow the contractor to start trial pits and excavation for the new Thames Water main and the relocated gas mains. From June to October this same section of Pancras Road will be closed to all traffic. Access to Coach Road and St Pancras Station car park will be retained. Plot R5 (North) Works to Building R4, May 2011 Simon Hazelgrove Progress is also being made on Plot R5 (North), after detailed plans for 143 homes were given reserved matters approval by Camden Council in April. Construction is now underway on the scheme which consists of a collection of three buildings, varying in height from two to 15 storeys, with commercial uses on the ground floor. The new homes, designed by architects Maccreanor Lavington, meet a priority need in the Borough with more than a quarter specifically designed for the elderly. 40 apartments with communal areas, in one of the buildings, will allow older people to live independently while also having access to the care and support services which they may need over time. The remaining homes in the other two blocks comprise 63 social rented apartments and 40 shared ownership apartments. As with R4, Plot R5 (North) will be owned and managed by the development s affordable housing partner, One Housing Group. Carillion Construction Plc, the main contractor, has commenced construction of the substructure including installation of over 180 piles, various pile caps and drainage works. The project is due to be completed in December New bridge Goods Way Interim Service Road Works to Goods Way, May 2011 Simon Hazelgrove

7 Station deliveries After 157 years, vehicular servicing to King s Cross station moved from the surface to below ground, into the Shared Service Yard a project which has been jointly funded by King s Cross Central and Network Rail. This has significant operational benefits for the station, allowing retail and on-board services to be accessed from subterranean levels, minimising disruption to passengers during delivery. View from St Pancras International across King s Cross Station Additionally, it clears the way for the delivery of Station Square, the gateway to the development, making all the difference to the opening of King s Boulevard for visitors wishing to explore the site from September. Apprentices Our Construction Skills Centre continues to go from strength to strength with everyone who uses the facility currently on an apprenticeship placement in the local area. This includes working on King s Cross itself with 5% of BAM Nuttall and Carillion s workforce made up of apprentices. The centre on York Way offers local people training, professional qualifications and employment opportunities in the construction industry and also provides apprenticeship placements for people aged who are out of work or carrying out unskilled work. This continues to be incredibly popular and we are currently recruiting for the summer intake. For more information call: Construction Hoarding On your travels you may have noticed our new hoarding around the site creating a more unified and identifiable development site. We have two designs in place: a red Girder effect around the key entrances which represents the reuse of heritage within the site and on longer stretches a leaf motif to reflect the significant amount of public realm being created - some eleven acres. Dotted around the hoarding key statistics and facts are displayed as oversized elements such as the example seen above which highlights the number of historic buildings and structures being restored across the 67 acre site. Oliver Knight, Property Awards 2011 Property Awards 2011 King s Cross Central won the Regeneration Award in the Property Awards 2011, hosted by Property Week. The awards, which were based on nominations made through the magazine s website, were announced at a ceremony in April. King s Cross Central was described as showing true regeneration, completely transforming a rundown part of the country and now succeeding with a succession of leasing deals. To see more details about the awards and all the other winners visit:

8 Junction Proposals 1. Canal Street / York Way Works commence in late Public opening mid Initially this will be a priority junction. Traffic lights to be installed when Zone W is developed. 2. Plot R4 / Plot R5 / York Way Not a signalled junction. 3. Plot R2 / York Way Road junction omitted. 4. York Way / Copenhagen Street Traffic signals installed - to be switched on in July Wharf Road / York Way Existing traffic signals switched off in July 2011 and removed. 6. Goods Way / York Way Amend traffic lights when junction is re-configured as part of the development of the petrol station site (includes a right hand turn south down York Way from Goods Way). Approximate implementation in King s Boulevard / Goods Way / Regent s Canal Bridge Install zebra crossing by September 2011 in-line with opening of King s Boulevard. Upgrade to full signal junction when King s Boulevard opens to buses and taxis (earliest 2014). 8. Camley Street / Goods Way / Pancras Road Re-configure the existing traffic signals by December Pancras Road / King s Boulevard Traffic signals installed. Full signal junction when King s Boulevard opens to buses and taxis (earliest 2014) A1 A2 9 E1 B2 B4 A3 A4 F 6 B1 B6 A5 5 B3 B5 7 J 8 4 Q1 Q2 R2 N1 N2 N1 N1 P1 P2 S2 R1 R3 R5(S) R4 3 2 T1 T2 S1 S4 R5 W2 W3 S5 T3 S3 T4 T5 1 W1 T6 Aerial View looking west with potential build-out Miller Hare All images John Sturrock unless noted otherwise Contacting Us There is a dedicated website and freephone helpline staffed during normal working hours, Monday to Friday. If somebody cannot answer immediately, there is an answer-phone facility. Freephone Helpline: Training and Jobs As part of our commitment to deliver local benefits, the Construction Skills Centre on York Way, run by contractor Carillion, offers advice and information on finding work in the construction industry local to King s Cross. It also provides apprenticeships for people aged who are out of work or carrying out unskilled work. For more information call: Who is backing the scheme? King s Cross Central is being developed by the King s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP), which brings together: Argent King s Cross Limited Partnership London & Continental Railways DHL Supply Chain For information on the future of King s Cross, please visit our marketing suite, which is open to the public Tuesdays to Fridays, during office hours: King s Cross Marketing Suite German Gymnasium Pancras Road London N1C 4TB Scope of Works The development at King s Cross will bring enormous and continuing benefits to the area. Safety and cleanliness are two of the local residents main objectives, but this development will offer a lot more. It will provide some 2,000 homes and serviced apartments, employment for thousands, schools, shops, food and drink outlets, cultural and community uses, health centres and many other facilities. Over 40% of this development will be public realm. Much of the area s heritage will be maintained by refurbishing 20 historic buildings and structures, including the listed Gasholder triplet.