Venus 210 – Knowsley

The below shows the project challenges:

• Poor Ground conditions – Portals solution involved a mixed approach – all foundations were pre-dug to remove obstructions and then vibropiled. Floor slabs and yards were proof rolled, soft spots were removed, and the entire area tested to achieve required CBR values.
• Ground Gas – the original SI identified gas and required a full membrane and passive venting under the slabs. This exceeded the client’s budget. Portal carried out further monitoring and with our Engineer produced an addendum to the SI report which KBC accepted and allowed the omission of the passive venting.
• Large attenuation requirements – Portal engaged with the LA with our specialist Tubosider and Engineer to develop a scheme which reduced the volumes and provided savings to the client
• The agreed programme of 38 weeks was ‘tight’. Portal engaged with the novated design team and appointed the specialist subcontract designers early running a number of collaborative design workshops. Much of the design was done via 3D modelling (Revitt) – although not BIM compliant the modelling was used to coordinate interfaces and run clash detection checks. A Project portal was established to share information across all parties
• Although a speculative building our works were taking place adjacent to large busy neighbours (Amazon and B&M) – drainage connections took place within Amazons site and utility connections affected both properties so much planning, coordination and communication was necessary to minimise any impact to their operations