December 2008 - Halcrow

Towering success
Halcrow had cause to celebrate as
consultant on Bahrain’s Financial Harbour,
when it was named best commercial
development at the recent Arabian
Property Awards.
Held at the Madinat Jumeirah resort in
Dubai, the awards highlight world-class
developments that represent the pinnacle
of design, functionality and innovation. The
£1.5 billion harbour is a fully integrated
development for a financial city and selfcontained
community, right in the centre of
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
As consultant to the Bahrain Financial
Harbour Holding Company, Halcrow was
commissioned to validate and rework the
concept plan to meet the development’s
gross floor area targets and provide a mix of
land use that was sustainable for
the existing infrastructure.
Halcrow also designed and
supervised the construction
of the reclamation areas and
elements of the harbour’s
marina. Plot development guidelines, a car
parking assessment, landscape frameworks
and an overall three dimensional masterplan
and urban design models were also created.
Covering 380,000m 2 of reclaimed land
in Mina Al Manama – the city’s old
trading harbour – Bahrain’s Financial
Harbour combines business, leisure
and residential districts. Just 15
minutes from Bahrain International
Airport, this waterfront development
will cater for 7,000 residents, with
work for a further 8,000 people.
Good vibrations
When Anglian Water’s new pipeline
ran into an immovable obstacle in the
shape of the A12 dual carriageway,
the only viable option was to tunnel
under the road to connect the
excavated pipe trenches on either
side of the busy thoroughfare.
Halcrow’s geospatial expertise was
sought to observe ground movement
and identify any risk of settlement
damage caused by the tunnel’s
construction. Led by Halcrow’s
Chris Hall and Andrew Baines, the
work was carried out as part of the
Horkesley to Cowdray Avenue water
mains replacement scheme.
The unrelenting stream of traffic
roaring down the A12 posed an
obvious challenge, preventing the
team from physically surveying the
road. Traffic was diverted from the
central lanes overnight while precise
monitoring targets were installed,
allowing surveyors to measure from
the safety of the side verges.
Laser scanning techniques in tandem
with daily precise levelling checks
ensured that any changes in the
road’s stability from the tunnelling
below would be picked up quickly by
the Halcrow monitoring team and fed
back to the client.
Breathing new life into bygone bridge
Aberdeen’s historic Wellington Suspension Bridge has reopened after a
seven year hiatus, thanks to inspired work by Halcrow’s Scottish team.
Halcrow also provided engineering
survey support to the tunnelling
contractor to ensure that everything
was built in exactly the right place.
Wellington Bridge, a testament to Captain Brown’s ingenuity
Halcrow initially undertook an inspection
of the bridge, built in 1830, following which
sections of the chains were removed,
examined, and found to be badly corroded.
In addition to designing replacement
stainless steel chains, the team managed
the Aberdonian landmark’s refurbishment,
adding a new timber deck, re-painted
metalwork and re-pointed granite masonry to
complete the face-lift. All works adhered to
Historic Scotland’s requirements.
Aberdeen City Council’s Lord Provost cut
the red ribbon on 3 September 2008, giving
the city’s pedestrians and cyclists their first
glimpse of the restored structure.
In recognition of the quality work carried out
by the team – David Hodson, Chris Short,
Anne Kerr and Brian Whittle – Halcrow
has been commissioned to design an
architectural lighting scheme for the bridge.
Captain Samuel Brown
chain bridge pioneer
Captain Brown hung up his naval uniform
in 1812 with several lucrative contracts
to his name, and a series of chain cable
patents that stood practically unchanged
for the next 100 years.
After establishing Samuel Brown and Co to
manufacture chains, Brown made his first
foray into bridge design and construction.
Suspended over the River Tweed, Union
Bridge was completed in 1820, making
it Britain’s first vehicular suspension
bridge. Aberdeen’s Wellington Bridge was
the seventh chain-supported structure
designed and built by Brown’s company.
Millimetre perfect
• Surveyors took measurements
on the same set of known
points each day
• Survey monuments were
established prior to tunnelling
and were checked regularly to
an accuracy of 1mm
• The level survey proved there
was no substantial movement
of the embankment during the
tunnelling work
• The laser scanner survey
showed no significant
ground movement of the two
carriageway surfaces