on the grounds that it would concentrate people as close as possible to public transport. SPG commissioned Renzo Piano, the Genovese architect
who designed the Pompidou Centre with Richard Rogers, and, more recently, the New York Times Tower, to come up with a suitable idea. Piano’s design for The Shard was inspired by old pictures of church spires and ships’ masts on the River Thames. He explains: ‘I wanted the building to melt with the city at the bottom, while coming to almost nothing at the top. Towers belong to our imagination, and if a new one can fit with the dreams of people, it will be a success.’ The engineering aspect of the building was devised
according to recommendations laid out in the US National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) report into the World Trade Center collapse, and it is the first in the UK to be designed to these new standards.
Work in progress After winning a competitive tender on a fixed price basis, Mace began work on The Shard in April 2008. The contract was to provide the shell and core of the building, and a number of innovative practices have been adopted in order to deliver it in the most efficient way possible. Mace initiated a policy of top-down construction that
allows the substructure and superstructure to be worked on simultaneously, saving time on the programme and jump- starting the core – a method never previously attempted on a building of this scale. It’s not just the construction process that is setting new
standards. Stephen Jeffery is Mace’s engineering services director, and is convinced that the way the company has approached the mechanical, electrical and plant (MEP) delivery, supply and fulfilment process on The Shard will redefine how projects will be carried out in the future.
Jeffery comments: ‘After looking at various ways to deliver
The policy of top-down construction allows the substructure and superstructure to be worked on simultaneously – a method never previously attempted on a building of this scale
the MEP works, we decided that, rather than outsource to a few large subcontractors, we would break down and manage the works much further than usual, using our own directly employed engineering personnel as much as we possibly could to manage the works. This approach is radically different from how projects of this magnitude are typically delivered, and I believe it marks a positive step- change in process and control.’
Under control It’s a method that Mace has used on smaller projects with great success. Jeffery explains: ‘With programme durations on projects reducing, and the MEP services element getting more complex, we are constantly reviewing methods which will reduce our risk; it is on this basis that we have taken control centrally of as much of the works on The Shard as we can. It means that resources can be allocated more effectively, we are more productive, and our channels of communication are more efficient.’ Mace has outsourced where necessary, but even this has
been carried out systematically. Jeffery adds: ‘We are using specialist contractors but have chosen to go directly to them individually and invite them on board. This means we can discuss things directly and work more closely together.’ Mace has directly procured most of the main plant and
equipment used on The Shard. It also has a centralised design and planning function that eliminates the duplication of plans and drawings. The company also makes sure that daily work schedules are clearly outlined and detailed so that everyone on site is fully aware of where they need to be and what aspect of the project they should be working on. Mace has 13 managers on the project who all work in one open-plan office, along with colleagues from all other
A sketch of the proposed construction
Workers certainly need a head for heights
30
ECA Today July 2011
GARETH LEWIS
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