3 Ngong Ping 360 John Batchelor, Suresh Tank 15 Waste as ... - Arup

Tower 2A
21m
• foundation design of eight towers
• slope stabilization and mitigation measures for towers and angle stations
• approximately 6km of rescue trail along the cable car alignment
• infrastructure associated with the terminal buildings, the theme village, and the
angle stations.
A site team from the MTRCL and Maeda was established in shared project offices
in Tung Chung and Ngong Ping, with the aim of providing effective everyday
communications and quick joint decisions. At peak, the Arup team totalled around
50 engineering design staff in Hong Kong, with support from the Arup Shenzhen
and Manila offices to meet multiple deadlines for design submissions.
Building approvals
All private building projects in Hong Kong are strictly controlled from design through
to occupation by the Government Building Authority via its Buildings Department
(BD). As Ngong Ping 360 is a private initiative operated by a non-government
company, the project had to be carried out under the Buildings Ordinance.
Full structural submissions including foundations and their geotechnical input
were submitted to the BD for formal approval and consent, as until consent is
issued no construction may proceed for that particular element of the work. Normal
approval processing is carried out within a 60 calendar day window, followed by a
28-day period for formal consent to be issued. The BD insisted that each station
and tower – a total of 13 sites - be treated as a separate project from the point of
view of submissions, which added significant challenges of complexity.
Responsibility for submissions, gaining approvals, consents, and subsequent
safe execution within the strict controls of the Buildings Ordinance lies with
professionally qualified individuals appointed by the project promoter. These
individuals have a duty to see that the works are designed and constructed to the
Ordinance. Overall responsibility lies with the authorized person (AP) - usually an
architect - with the structural and geotechnical issues taken by a registered
structural engineer (RSE) and registered geotechnical engineer (RGE). For Ngong
Ping 360, these latter individuals were Arup staff, with Aedas providing the AP role.
At the commencement of the project, the MTRCL initiated and chaired weekly
6. The dynamic roof structure of the Tung Chung terminal building.
52.5 m
52m
Airport Island angle station
40.2m
88m
56.7m
Tower 2B
50m
meetings between Arup, Aedas, and Maeda to
monitor a programme of BD submissions, reviewing
conditions imposed by BD during the processing,
and monitoring the programme tightly due to the
unprecedented number of submissions (over 200)
required to cover the engineering aspects of the
work. Arup’s work covered the building structures
and tower foundations, but excluded the towers
themselves and other secondary support structures
covered by separate RSEs in other companies.
Partnering
The concept of partnering was introduced at the
outset. Several partnering and value management
workshops, facilitated by an external consultant,
were held for the project team including top
management and front end site staff.
Regular monthly partnering meetings were also
held on site to monitor the objectives in the project
charter signed by all involved. This approach proved
successful, with all parties working together to
achieve common goals and creating a barrier-free
and harmonious working relationship.
The cost challenges, and the complex approvals
process which impacted the design costs, also
tested the partnering concept, since Arup had
committed to a fixed lump sum fee in advance of
the BD requirements being known. However, mutual
commitment to partnering by all parties enabled
these challenges to be resolved without breakdown
of relationships or retreat to contractual positions
that would have delayed the project.
The Arup Journal 1/2008 5