Canary Wharf will be one of the largest Crossrail stations. Construction of the Crossrail project began at North Dock in Canary Wharf in May 2009. 2014 marks the halfway point for the Crossrail project, where the organisation moves from major tunnelling work to station fit-outs. Crossrail services through central London start operating in 2018 when it will add 10% more capacity to London’s rail network. The station and proposed retail and park areas will be six stories high. The station design incorporates two parts - a huge 256 meter long station box sitting directly below a proposed over-site development. The over-site development includes plans for 100,000 square feet of retail space and a roof-top park and community facility, semi-covered by an elegant timber lattice roof.
Building the new railway involves constructing eight new stations in central London and Docklands and upgrading many existing stations. Stretching from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, the new railway will cover over 100km of track including 21km of new twin-bore rail tunnel. The proposed roof will be made of translucent materials, letting the local community see, and encouraging them to visit the new green space, shops, restaurants and facilities within.
Case Study: Canary Wharf Crossrail Station, London England
Modelling Consultants: Freeform 3D Ltd.
Canary Wharf Crossrail Station Project Cost - £500M
Schedule completion: 2015
Freeform 3D Ltd. was engaged to build and develop a full 4D model of the station, retail spaces and connections to existing buildings on the estate. We also attended site and programme co-ordination meetings, using the 4D model to review the works and develop the programme.
'The Crossrail Station model built for Canary Wharf Contractors Ltd. is our most ambitious and detailed model to date. With all internal activities within the station and retail box fully modelled, Synchro PRO is proving to be a powerful tool for managing and navigating the complex programme of works. The model has been filtered to allow for exploding by floor level in order to communicate the floor-to-floor dependencies. Hoist locations, stairs, escalators, mole holes and service risers are all represented. The project also plugs in to a number of properties on the estate, these have all been modelled in Synchro PRO to assist in minimising disruption and optimising the sequence. The interface with the Crossrail works has been fully realised and explored, increasing the understanding of the programme within the wider project team.'
Specific programme issues discovered and resolved using Synchro PRO:-During the building and maintenance of the model, a series of opportunities, clashes and unforeseen situations were discovered. Sometimes these were found during the modelling process, but most often it was the modelling workshops and co-ordination meetings on site where the discovery occurred. The workshops were arranged so that the project team could explore various construction options in real time, the model having been built in such a way to allow for this process.
A few of these are highlighted on the following pages, with a full list available on request.
Inter-floor dependencies. The most common clashes occurred where activities that spanned two or more floors. During the development of the programme in one floor,
dependencies not seen within and between the floor detail programmes were highlighted in the model. The model allowed the team to resolve these issues in advance of the works, causing minimal or no disruption.
Level -4 Ceiling / Escalator working zones clash.
Updated durations and working zones from the escalator contractor were reflected in the model, highlighting the need for re-planning the spacial interface between these trades.
Clearance for Tunnel Boring Machines.
The phasing of the structural works at level -6 were reflected in the model, whereby a series of leave-downs and omissions allowed the passing of the Tunnel Boring Machines through the station box. No particular clashes were discovered in this area, but as another method of checking the sequence, the model proved useful.
Impact of ‘shove frames’ to floors above.
Following synchronising of the model to the latest interface programme between the Crossrail and Canary Wharf works, a pair of rooms above the TBM temporary steelwork were shown as being impacted by the works. This was then passed on to the specialist contractors to help better plan the works in these areas.
Mobile crane locations at ground floor.
As the steel, ETFE roof and façade contractors developed and issued their detailed logistics information, the model was updated to suit. Clearances for cranes, pick up points and lifting radii were overlaid on the original master model. A series of minor adjustments were highlighted by the model that were then reflected in the project’s logistics 2D plans.
Pick-up points for escalators.
After synchronising the model to reflect the current demolition of the marine deck, it was discovered that the original locations for the escalator unloading would no longer work. Following this, new unloading points and new routes were identified through the building for the delivery and installation of the escalators.
Hoists and access for the ETFE roof.
Co-ordination between internal loading of materials and the progress of the ETFE roof was possible using the model to combine programme and logistics information between trades. Leaving out a group of ETFE pillows and timber members to allow material delivery to the park level was co-ordinated within the model.
With enough time and some hindsight, all of the above, and all of the other discoveries we make using 4D models, are possible to identify and resolve using traditional (2D) means. However, time and hindsight are expensive and inefficient. By centralising information from all specialist contractors in a 4D environment, the ability to identify and resolve issues happens proactively, efficiently and in an environment where there is flexibility to respond in a cost effective, safe and well planned way. This is the value of 4D modelling and the power of Synchro PRO.
Freeform 3D Ltd. provides market leading 4D modelling services for various parties within the construction industry. Our involvement ranges from feasibility studies and pre-construction, space planning on live projects, and post-completion analysis i.e. actual vs planned models in cases of delay and disruption. Our background is engineering and construction, and as such our models have a functionality in which we take pride and are of high value to the project team.
For further information please contact us on the below details.
Freeform 3D Ltd www.freeform3d.co.uk [email protected] [+44] 7989 232421
