Two appointments for high-profile London developments have been announced today – Sir Robert McAlpine landed a plumb job at Battersea Power Station development and Aecom sees its construction arm rev up with a construction partner role on Europe’s largest residential tower.
Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed by Battersea Power Station Development Company as the new construction manager to complete Phase 3 of the redevelopment project.
The developer said an “intensive handover process” is underway to take over from Bouygues, which announced in March it would be leaving the job during the pre-construction phase.
The developer also said that work is understood to be unaffected on the site because the trade contractors are already directly appointed by the developer and their ongoing management has continued during this transitional period.
Phase 3 features more than 1,300 new homes, a hotel, shops and restaurants and a new London Underground station. The phase has been designed by Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners, and will include a new pedestrianised high street, Electric Boulevard, which will run from the new station up to the Power Station.
Simon Jenner, COO of Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: “On behalf of the shareholders, we are pleased to welcome Sir Robert McAlpine to the project. Sir Robert McAlpine have demonstrated a comprehensive and robust understanding of our objectives; they have identified a strong, proven team with highly relevant experience and have shown a true desire and enthusiasm to work on this exciting and demanding project.
“This is another step towards the successful completion of this phase and we look forward to working with their team in due course.”
Meanwhile, leading Chinese developer Greenland Group has today announced that is has selected Aecom as the preferred construction partner for the groundbreaking £800m Spire London development at Canary Wharf, in London’s Docklands.
Spire London is set to be the tallest residential tower in western Europe, standing 235.145m (771ft) high, and it is already well into its first construction phase.
Work will start on the basement and main build by the end of 2017.
Aecom will bring the expertise of its high-rise construction business Aecom Tishman to lead the delivery of this development
Aecom Tishman recently completed the new 1,776ft tall One World Trade Centre.
Spire London is 67-storeys high, providing 861 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses, 765 of which are available for private sale.
It has been designed by architects Larry Malcic and Christopher Colosimo of multi-award-winning architectural practice HOK.
Spire London’s construction continues on schedule and leading foundations specialist Bachy Soletanche, the appointed pilings contractor, is due to complete works by November 2017.
Bachy Soletanche is responsible for delivering the geotechnical package on the development, and has set a new UK record for static load testing of piled foundations, achieving a maximum loading force in excess of 100 MN, using the Osterberg Cell technique.
In addition, on 19 May, Greenland Group signed a pre-construction services agreement with Permasteelisa Group, one of Europe’s top cladding contractors
The cladding contract is one of the largest construction packages for the project.
Spire London is scheduled for completion Q4 2020.
