NEW HOLLAND DIGS DEEP IN LONDON

When completed, The Grange St Paul's Hotel. currently under construction in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral will be London's latest 5-star hotel. Like so many inner London projects, the construction works have not been without their challenges.

The contractor for the excavation and concrete frame construction is J. Reddington Ltd who has enjoyed an excellent working relation with the Architects, Buchanan Associates Architects Ltd.

Damian Horan, Project Engineer for the contractor said that apart from the usual problems of working in a very restricted site, with office building to all four sides, the most difficult challenge has been in scheduling logistics in deliveries to the site, which can only be accessed via a narrow, cul-de-sac.

Another problem was minimising equipment in the 2,000 m², which had to be excavated to a depth of 14 m to provide for the three-level basement. One solution was to bring on to site a New Holland E215LC ME hydraulic excavator, a standard excavator which can be easily converted to add a third boom to provide exceptional reach to a depth of over 15 m.

This ability made final excavation of the foundations a relatively simple task. Apart from being able to reach to the bottom of the excavation, the ability of the boom to fold up close to the machine during loading meant it could load trucks parked close to the machine, and away from the adjacent office block. The E215 LC ME is also a very quiet machine, thereby helping the contractor to keep sound levels to a minimum.

The operator said, “The excellent visibility to the bucket, even at full reach, throughout the swing and into the truck make it a lot easier that it might have been. The controls are also very responsive making for faster bucket loading, raising and swivelling.”

A 4,870 kg New Holland E50.2SR, in the bottom of the excavation assisted in feeding the pile from which the E215LC took the material.

Before being configured for the final excavations, the E215LC was used as a standard 23 t. excavator working in the pit, together with the E50.2SR, which, with zero tail swing, could work closely alongside excavation walls. During the early stages of the ground excavations, the long-reach configuration proved invaluable where it was not feasible to move the excavator closer to the area being worked.

The ground works started in May 2006 for completion in July 2007. Work has already started on constructing the basements and the eight above-ground storeys.

The £75 million project is being undertaken by Grange Hotels, a company with a range of luxury hotels across central London and is scheduled for opening in August 2008. The hotel will comprise 435 guestrooms, conference centre, restaurants, bars and a health club.

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