VolkerFitzpatrick Ilford

Requirement

When VolkerFitzpatrick were awarded a £50 million contract by Crossrail to redevelop the train depot at Ilford, they knew they would need to accommodate a lot of staff on site. The project would not only include providing additional stabling facilities, but the construction of a new building for the rail staff and major modification of existing facilities at the depot.

The scope of work for VolkerFitzpatrick will also include the design, enabling works, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of the new sidings, accommodation building and major modification of other existing depot facilities.

Aside from the obvious challenges a project of this magnitude presents, VolkerFitzpatrick Crossrail needed to address a fundamental question: where can we put our staff during the work?

Offices, meeting rooms and drying rooms would all be required on a site that was bordered by the rail line, roads, and a roofing supplier. With a footprint not large enough to accommodate a more traditional one or two storey solution to this problem, Volker went the only way they could; upwards.

To provide the accommodation they chose Wernick Hire, whose AVflex™ GreenSpace™ units could be stacked up to four storeys high. This meant everyone could fit within the same building, including Crossrail staff, who occupied the entire fourth floor. Fortunately, staff wouldn’t be subjected to the elements while making their way to their office as the compact design still left room for covered stairways at either end of the building.

Installation using a 200 tonne crane was completed in a mere 6 days, with all vehicles on site being compliant with Crossrail’s rigorous safety standards. The speed of installation earned the site an award from Crossrail for allowing work to begin so quickly.

The Ilford rail depot will remain operational throughout construction, which is due to finish in 2016.