4
Brighton i360 Newsletter - Issue 7 - February 2nd 2015 Welcome to the 7th project newsletter for the Brighton i360. Historic moments on site Every build has to prepare the ground for foundations, but not many have to deal with a Victorian sewer system that still functions as the main sewer in Brighton and Hove. After months of planning, January saw us working through the night to break open the Victorian brickwork and divert the flow around our base-building. It was a remarkable feat of engineering, which you can read more about on page 2. Perfectly positioned puncture holes! Over in Holland, work is progressing nicely on the tower and we have begun to drill the bolt holes around the perimeter of the newly attached flanges. We don’t want mis-matched holes when we start the build, so to make sure they meet perfectly, the flanges are placed together so we can drill in pairs. Each pair of cans is then “trial assembled” in the factory to make certain that all the bolts do indeed fit properly. So far so good. What’s next? On-site we need to finish up the sewer works before we can move to the next stage of the project - the basement pilings. These are the concrete stilts that interlock to form the basement of the tower. Overseas, the cans will have their secondary steelwork fitted before being sandblasted and coated to protect against the weather. i360 opportunities Are you a creative web design agency or freelancer able to bring our exciting new visitor attraction to life with a brand new website design? Are you a social media expert that can create a buzz about the i360 on social media networks and get the world talking about the tallest moving observation tower in the world? We are looking for creative people to join our team. Find out what we are looking for on the back page of this newsletter.

Brighton i360 newsletter - February 2015

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

Find out more about the works and progress at the Brighton i360 - the world's tallest moving observation tower

Citation preview

Page 1: Brighton i360 newsletter - February 2015

Brighton i360Newsletter - Issue 7 - February 2nd 2015Welcome to the 7th project newsletter for the Brighton i360.

Historic moments on site Every build has to prepare the ground for foundations, but not many have to deal with a Victorian sewer system that still functions as the main sewer in Brighton and Hove.

After months of planning, January saw us working through the night to break open the Victorian brickwork and divert the flow around our base-building. It was a remarkable feat of engineering, which you can read more about on page 2.

Perfectly positioned puncture holes! Over in Holland, work is progressing nicely on the tower and we have begun to drill the bolt holes around the perimeter of the newly attached flanges.

We don’t want mis-matched holes when we start the build, so to

make sure they meet perfectly, the flanges are placed together so we can drill in pairs. Each pair of cans is then “trial assembled” in the factory to make certain that all the bolts do indeed fit properly. So far so good.

What’s next?On-site we need to finish up the sewer works before we can move to the next stage of the project - the basement pilings. These are the concrete stilts that interlock to form the basement of the tower.

Overseas, the cans will have their secondary steelwork fitted before being sandblasted and coated to protect against the weather.

i360 opportunities

Are you a creative web design agency or freelancer able to bring our exciting new visitor attraction to life with a brand new website design?

Are you a social media expert that can create a buzz about the i360 on social media networks and get the world talking about the tallest moving observation tower in the world?

We are looking for creative people to join our team. Find out what we are looking for on the back page of this newsletter.

Page 2: Brighton i360 newsletter - February 2015

pull the plug on the inflatable. Cerwin’s plan was faster, more environmentally aware, put less pressure on the sewer system and meant we could do all the work within the confines of the i360 site – perfect!

Working with Victorian brickworkWe then had to put the plan into action. Getting the bung in the brickwork sewer pipe was a big challenge – it is clever in design, shaped like an egg rather than a circle as this is a stronger shape. It is incredibly difficult to take apart – if you are too ‘gung-ho’, smashing in a great section, the bricks could cave in. Instead the team had to anchor bolt the top section and cut away the bricks in small sections. In some places the bricks were 5 deep, so this took some time!

Once a section had been completely freed, it was lifted by crane (opposite). This gave the team the first look into the Victorian sewer – sealed up since 1869! Southern Water were here for the momentous man-oeuvre; the old sandstone bricks are in remarkably good condition and will eventually be displayed.

Of course as we sorted out manhole 1, the entry point to the diversion, work was well underway on manhole 2, the exit point where it rejoins. The bungs were put in place and quickly inflated to the right pressure and the tubes that run through the centre were attached to corresponding bungs in our new system.

But would it all work? It started with a trickle, but as the night progressed, the waters flowed seamlessly through the diversion. Stuart Slark, a Southern Water Delivery Engineer was impressed, ‘Hats off to them, it was an incredible bit of engineering’. We agree. When we visited the site last Friday, there was barely even a smell - just the faintest hint of men’s urinal!

We are working hard to complete the works and will hopefully finish the diversion this week.

Innovative engineeringThe sewer diversionWhen you are diverting a main sewer, environmental and community impact must be taken into account; the type of sewer and water flow must be considered and in our case, an intricate understanding of the integrity of Victorian brickwork is needed.

The sewer pipe has to be 5.5m away from the perimeter of our beach building, so over the last few months our contractors – Mackley and Thorne – have built 120m of concrete tunnel to divert the flow around our beach building. The big challenge was working out how to connect it to the main sewer pipe.

Finding solutionsMany different methods were brought to the table, each using a potentially smelly process that involved pumping out the sewage from the manhole outside the West Pier Arches shops. It was Cerwin Meijer, Thorne’s Site Manager, that had the stroke of genius... what if we didn’t pump at all and kept it flowing? By using a clever piece of kit that looks like an inflatable doughnut, we could bung up the sewer at the intended connection point and direct the flow into our newly built diversion pipe. We could then build up around the bung and, once complete, enter the manhole and

Page 3: Brighton i360 newsletter - February 2015

Talking towersAs this is the year our tower will be built, we felt it was time to look at observation towers in a bit more detail. Over the next few issues we will be looking at what makes an observation tower successful? Why do they remain some of the most popular attractions in the world and what is it about them that appeals to visitors?

Head and shoulders above the restDavid Marks, the architect behind the i360 put this simply, “there is a universal desire for people to get up high to enjoy a great view”.

A fascination with climbing to the top of something to see the view goes back to the beginning of time.

It gives you a sense of place, spreading the immediate world below you and giving you a drastically different perspective.

Of course views could only be found at the top of mountains before man-made structures came along, and it wasn’t until 1889, when the controversial

Eiffel Tower (left) was unveiled as the entrance arch to the World Trade Fair, that tall buildings became more than just a great view. Visitors flocked to the tower and even now it is one of the most-visited attractions in Paris. It receives almost 7 million people a year, making it the most visited paid-for monument in the world.

Iconic statusYou can’t just build a tall tower and become an icon. The Eiffel Tower has visual presence and people recognise it – even it’s silhouette shape. It draws people to Paris and places the city firmly on the map. Over time, it has become an icon. It has

also become the icon for what tall towers can do for a city.

126 years later and Brighton is on the cusp of change. Growing cities need a way to identify and separate themselves and we hope the futuris-tic i360 will come to represent the changing face of the city - forward-thinking, creative and cut-ting-edge - just as the Eiffel Tower did for Paris. For a long time we have traded on imagery of the Royal Pavilion and the two piers, particularly the West Pier – but this is literally crumbling away. We need to find something new.

So how will we stack up against the world’s tallest towers?We will be the tallest… well, the tallest moving observation tower anyway! There is a massive difference between the lift up to an observation deck in a very tall building and a tower built solely to be an observation experience. We weren’t trying to compete in height with the likes of the Burj Khalifa (above) in Dubai, which at 829.8 m high is 5 times the size of the i360, instead Marks Barfield wanted to provide an observation tower that used innovative engineering to offer visitors the chance to experience a slowly changing view, something they felt was the key factor in the London Eye’s success. As you glide up to the top of the i360 the view will unfold before you.

So height doesn’t really matter then?Height does matter with any observation tower but you must balance height against the observation experience - something we will discuss further next month. For example, what use is being high if your view is obscured by clouds? In Brighton, the curvature of the earth means that from the i360 you will be able to see just over 26 miles… the distance of a marathon. This is the perfect height to experience the beautiful Sussex Coastline.

Page 4: Brighton i360 newsletter - February 2015

Keep in touch! If you know anyone that might enjoy our newsletter, please pass this on to them - they can sign up on our website.

If you would like us to come and talk to your community or business group, please get in touch with our Public Liaison Officer, Ruth Chapman, at [email protected].

@thebrightoni360

Brighton-i360

Brightoni360

http://brightoni360.wordpress.com

New faces!As we get closer to our launch, our team is starting to grow. This month we welcomed Sue Woodward as Business Development Director. Sue will be taking the lead on major sponsorship opportunities at the i360. If you are interested in discussing naming rights and category partnership opportunities, please contact her on [email protected].

We were also very pleased to bring Neal Mardon into the mix. Neal is the Hollandia Project Manager. Based on-site, Neal is helping to manage the multiple processes involved in building an observation tower on Brighton beach and is working closely with Ruth, our Public Liaison Officer, to make sure all relevant information is disseminated.

If you are keen to be part of the Brighton i360 team, check out the job roles below. Full details are listed on our website:https://brightoni360.wordpress.com/.

Building the i360 team

Web DesignerAre you a creative web design agency or freelancer able to bring our exciting new visitor at-traction to life online? We are seeking a suitably qualified agency/ individual to pitch to create a new website for the Brighton i360 (www.brightoni360.co.uk) to convey our visitor experience and brand. Please submit your interest to tender by Friday, 6 February 2015 to [email protected]. If you are asked to tender, we will request a signed confidentiality agreement before issuing the tender brief. The deadline for tenders is Friday, 20 February 2015.

Short-listed companies will be invited to meet with us and discuss the tender in further detail on ei-ther 26 February, 2 or 3 March. We aim to award the contract by Friday, 6 March 2015 and hope to launch the first stage of the new website by the be-ginning of 2 April 2015. The complete site should be finalised by 15 May 2015.

Social Media ExecutiveDo you love to engage with customers online? We are looking for a creative and inspiring individual to work as an ambassador for the Brighton i360, helping us build enthusiasm for the project, support our brand values and provide impeccable customer service through social media.

The ideal candidate will have experience in developing, sustaining and monitoring social media campaigns, and demonstrate a real passion for the Brighton i360. They will be able to write interesting and relevant content and have an understanding of analytical platforms and software.

The chosen candidate will support the Public Liaison Officer with the creation of the i360 newsletter and blog, so we are looking for an excellent eye for detail and good writing skills.

The deadline for applications is Monday 16th February.