“The two cores at 62 Buckingham Gate are now complete,” reports Tony Cockerill, Project Manager for Sir Robert McAlpine. “We are pouring the concrete for the eleventh floor slab.” Now that it is nearing full-height, the tilting angles of the supporting columns have been drawing lots of bemused stares from passers-by. They hint at the unusual shape of architect Pelli Clarke Pelli’s origami-inspired folding planes that will clad the finished building. “At the start of February we lifted the first glass panels into place in the northwest corner of level one,” continues Tony. “Moving in an anti-clockwise direction, it will take about two weeks to clad each floor.
The complex geometry of the elevations means that many of the glass panels will be unique triangles and parallelograms. But, each unit is numbered so that we know exactly which piece will go where.”
Inside, the blockwork has finished in the main building and is now being painted. NG Bailey, the mechanical and electrical sub-contractor, are installing plant in the basement, including airhandling units, tanks, switch-gear for the electrics, and massive generators with metre-diameter exhausts. They have also started on the vertical piping, ductwork and trays that will carry the services up the building. Main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine made a special presentation to all the workers in January to mark a calendar year with no reportable accidents. “We want everyone going home safe every day,” says Tony. “Hopefully, in May we will reach two full years with no reportable accidents.”
Source: Victoria Spring 2012, Land Securities