Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre Storage Building, London

Requirements

England Hockey and LVRPA required a new, jointly funded storage facility in time for the 2018 Hockey Women’s World Cup. The brief was to provide a permanent solution and a bespoke building that took in elements of the original nearby Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.

The facility needed to have both internal and external storage areas for storing items including tennis court flooring, furniture, media equipment, IT equipment, scoreboards, ad boards, and TVs. The external store was required for storing items such as outdoor furniture, buggies, grounds maintenance equipment, and petrol/diesel storage.

Perfect Circle was appointed via Scape Group’s National Built Environment Consultancy Services (BECS) framework to provide building surveying, quantity surveying, structural and civil engineering services.

Challenges

Providing a sympathetic design that was in keeping with the existing environment but within the client’s budget was the biggest challenge.

During construction, Perfect Circle was also presented with a series of unforeseeable environmental conditions including inclement weather, contaminated soil, undetected high voltage power cables and large scale abandoned concrete drainage infrastructure. These unknowns led to several interruptions while dealing with the issues.

Outcomes

In order to provide a sympathetic design within the client’s budget, Perfect Circle combined preliminary design work, careful cost planning and efficient contract administration. This allowed the contractor to work within clear parameters and avoided additional expense through design delays.

A combination of western red cedar cladding, powder coated aluminium and green roof were used to integrate the new facility seamlessly into its surroundings. Topsoil from the construction of the building was not removed from site but instead utilised for extending the mountain bike trail from the adjacent VeloPark venue. This provided both cost savings and environmental benefits. The clients were especially pleased with the incorporation of the green roof that not only fitted perfectly into the surroundings but, more importantly, offered the environmental benefits associated with this type of roofing system.

To overcome the unforeseeable environment conditions, regular site meetings were held. Perfect Circle also carefully allocated resources and provided efficient programming, meaning the contractor was able to recover lost time during above ground construction works.

Perfect Circle added further value to the scheme by engaging a team on Scape BECS compliant rates, avoiding the need to go to tender, which would have resulted in a loss of valuable time. A project team with extensive experience working with the same client on numerous projects also meant that the scheme could progress at pace. The project team established the necessary protocols and management early on in the programme, allowing for a smooth preliminary design, procurement and construction period.

The finished Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre storage building proudly takes its place on site as a continuation of ongoing legacy works, which make up the larger Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The new building – which was delivered on time and on budget – has significantly increased vital storage facilities at the centre, allowing both England Hockey and LVRPA to manage their resources better and to cope with site maintenance and large-scale international events, instead of having to hire in equipment and temporary storage facilities.

Additional services provided:

Quantity Surveying

Structural Engineering