Twelve infrastructure and building projects have been shortlisted for the ICE London Civil Engineering Awards 2011:

Barclays Cycle Hire, submitted by Transport for London

Since its launch in 2010, over 2 million journeys have been made using Barclays Cycle Hire scheme. Overcoming the challenges associated with London’s unique built environment and land ownership involved Transport for London working in close partnership with nine different local authorities, The Royal Parks and private landowners to secure the best sites for the scheme’s 350 docking stations, without compromising the needs of other road or public space users. The docking stations have been designed to be as energy and material-efficient as possible, blending in with the streetscape and providing a safe and sustainable transport option.

East London Line Project, submitted by Balfour Beatty Carillion Joint Venture and TfL London Rail

The £700 million replacement and extension of the existing East London Line into a fast and modern metro service fully integrated in London’s Overground rail network was delivered ahead of schedule and represents a triumph of collaborative working. Constructed through 10km of congested urban landscape between Dalston and New Cross Gate down to West Croydon, the project employed approximately 2,000 people at its peak and uniquely, involved laying innovative new tracks, installing modern signalling and telecoms equipment whilst repairing and making use of existing Victorian walls, viaducts and tunnels, including the historic Brunel Tunnels and Kingsland Viaduct.  Four new stations, a concrete viaduct and a steel bridge near Liverpool Street were also built.

Hy-Pavilion, submitted by Price & Myers

The Hy-pavilion - a 360 degree re-usable stage and venue for talks, events, and theatre - formed a focal point for the London Festival of Architecture 2010. The structure was inspired by the simplest possible element: a straight line – creating something dramatic, beautiful, elegant and imposing, for little cost, using few materials, and that was simple to make and build. The minimal approach to materials; with very little steel and with the majority of the structure being engineered timber; makes the pavilion highly sustainable and also re-usable.

London 2012 Olympic Velodrome, Stratford, submitted by Expedition Engineering

The London 2012 Velodrome is a world class venue which intelligently answers questions of function, beauty, sustainability, buildability and cost. The venue, which will serve as an Olympic and Paralympic stadium during the Games and as a community cycling facility after 2012, incorporates a number of innovations including the uniquely designed curved cable net roof which saved 1,000 tonnes of steel and cut £4 million from construction costs. With 35% less embodied energy than the next best comparable venue in the world and impressive resource and energy efficiency credentials, the Velodrome is also setting new industry standards for sustainable construction. 

M25 DBFO Widening Junction 16-23 – Section 1X, submitted by Skanska Balfour Beatty Joint Venture

Section 1 of the M25 widening project, within the confines of the existing highway boundary between junctions 16-23, was completed in a very short time frame of 55 weeks despite the extreme weather conditions, alongside approximately 100,000 motorists driving through the road works every day, and within half a mile of 15,000 residential properties. Works included the construction of noise minimising embankments, drainage ponds to manage motorway runoff and the widening of Berry Lane Viaduct over a London Underground line. Modern communications equipment was also installed, improving driver safety, journey time reliability and access to information.

Riverside Resource Recovery Facility, Belvedere, submitted by AE&E Inova AG

Located on the south bank of the Thames at Belvedere, this state-of-the-art energy from waste facility will help to resolve London’s dependence on landfill. When it becomes fully operational in 2011 it will manage 585,500 tonnes of waste each year and will generate 72MW of electricity. Engineers overcame complex challenges during the £350 million project, including the construction of an innovative jetty. In addition to reducing the amount of London’s waste sent to landfill, the facility will save more than 100,000 truck journeys each year by transporting waste to the site via tug and barge.

Sports Canopy, The National Tennis Centre, Roehampton, submitted by George Stowell

The new demountable sports canopy at the National Tennis Centre for The Lawn Tennis Association in Roehampton is the first of its type in the UK and a world first in the sports sector. Careful teamwork delivered an inspiring and creative design solution – composite fabric beams spanning 42 metres with efficient internal steel stiffening, braced by an exo-skeleton of tensile fabric and compressive struts. The all-weather demountable canopy provides a prototype for future uses and was constructed over a 12 week period within the allocated budget.

Strata SE1, Southwark, submitted by WSP

At 43 storeys and 147.9 metres in height, Strata SE1 is the tallest residential building in central London and is leading the economic regeneration of Elephant & Castle. The project took place in only 29 months using innovative design and construction methods on a highly confined site. The building has sustainability at its heart, with 3 wind turbines producing 8% of the building’s energy, high performance glazing and a district heating system reducing energy demand by 73.5% compared to the required standard. Post-tensioned floors have saved significant quantities of concrete and CO2 emissions.

Thames Barrier, Woolwich, submitted by Environment Agency and Halcrow Group Ltd

Completed in 1982, the Thames Barrier has been at the heart of London’s flood defences for 28 years, closing on 119 occasions to prevent flooding in the capital. This project has extended the life of the Barrier, demonstrating technical excellence whilst maximising the potential of data and monitoring systems in the most challenging of environments. The works involved the inspection and refurbishment of the main bearings and support structures facilitating the movement of the Thames Barrier’s four main gates, each 62m long and weighing 3,500 tonnes. The installation of unique monitoring systems will allow the bearings’ condition to be remotely observed, reducing costs and safety risks by minimising the frequency of inspections and maintenance interventions.

Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works, Barking, submitted by Thames Water Utilities

Opened in June 2010, the Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works is the UK’s first-ever desalinisation plant and will ensure London has a much-needed back-up supply during prolonged periods of low rainfall. At full capacity the works will be capable of supplying 150 million litres of water per day – enough for 400,000 households. The innovative use of reverse osmosis sets the plant apart in terms of efficiency, meaning it can turn 85% of the water extracted from the Thames into drinking water. The £100 million project was completed within confined and challenging environments within 100 weeks.

Tottenham Court Road Northern Line Escalator Box, submitted by VINCI BAM Nuttall Joint Venture

This project, part of the £500 million Tottenham Court Road Station upgrades, involved innovative piling works to enable the installation of 3 escalators that will link the station’s new ticket hall to the existing Northern Line tunnels. A piled perimeter wall was constructed to act as a retaining wall facilitating excavation of the box within. As part of this piled wall, 7 over site development piles ranging from 1.43m – 2.03m in diameter and over 60m in depth were constructed including a very unusual “D” shaped pile. Tight construction tolerances were achieved to install piles less than 1.5m from operational Northern line tunnels.

Woolwich Clock Tower, submitted by Ramboll UK Limited

Safety concerns and heritage conservation were the primary drivers behind the restoration of the 19th century Woolwich Clock Tower, which underwent a partial rebuild and refurbishment during the completion of the Woolwich Arsenal residential development in 2008. Using intensive 3D modelling to map the original locations of reclaimed timber, engineers were able to salvage and then treat and restore over 85% of the original materials.