KEY FACTS

CLIENT

Buckingham Group Contracting

YEAR COMPLETED

2015

BUILD TYPE

New Build

SERVICES PROVIDED

Building Information Modelling (BIM)
Civil Engineering
Infrastructure Design
Structural Engineering

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BWB have provided multi-disciplinary services on the first facility to be completed at one of Europe's largest logistics developments. The 300-hectare logistics park at DP World London Gateway will provide over 9 million square feet of warehouse space next to the site's deep-sea container port which opened in 2012.

The first building to be completed is the London Gateway Logistics Centre, a purpose-built Common User Facility consisting of 386,000 square feet of distribution warehousing and associated office space. This multi-user cargo handling centre allows different businesses to have shared access to warehousing and transportation on a flexible basis.

BWB provided civil and structural design services to Buckingham Group Contracting who recently completed Phase 1 of the centre's development. The first container was transported from the port to the facility in May 2015, shortly after the building was completed.

Key Challenges

BWB undertook external concrete service yard design, drainage design including attenuation ponds and on-site treatment, foul water treatment systems and piled foundation designs. The project was undertaken to BIM Level 2 standards.

BWB's value engineering enabled the replacement of the pumped surface water drainage included within the contract drawings with a simpler gravity system. This reduced upfront costs for the contractor as well as the amount of maintenance that will be required to the drainage in the future and hence the whole-life cost of the system.

BWB incorporated alternative methods of surface water treatment including two large ponds in order to remove the requirements for a permeable block paved car park which would have required extensive long-term maintenance. This was achieved while still satisfying the Environment Agency of the high quality of the treated surface water discharging into their watercourse.

Structurally the building was of multi-bay portal framed construction of which the steelwork was designed by the fabricator. The sub structure was fully piled and with the use of Revit modelling software the co-ordination with the Architect's details was made a simpler and more straightforward exercise.

To cope with the possible settlement of the external yard slab the first section from the dock levellers to the drainage channel was supported off the perimeter precast ground beams. The building was designed to allow for a future extension off the gable end with minimal works required to the existing building to avoid disturbance to any occupier.

KEY CONTACTS