A new three-car DLR station built on-line around the existing Stratford line between All Saints and Devon's Road station, Langdon Park is central to regeneration plans for the area and was substantially funded by regional development monies. Ramboll acted as lead consultant for Costain, who carried out the project under a design & build contract.
A design for a landmark station
The quality of the project’s architecture is high. It is modern and transparent with translucent ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) canopies over the platforms, a new curved DDA-compliant steel footbridge, striking aluminium fins around the lift shafts and a monocoque GRP canopy 32m long to shelter pedestrians.
The footbridge is covered by a monocoque GRP canopy 32m long, which sweeps up above the station and platform roofs. The lift towers have been integrated with the bridge, their glass panels protected and surrounded by aluminium fin-like louvres.
Site constraints
Site constraints included a live railway operating environment and the presence of an 800mm diameter medium pressure gas main directly under the line of the new footbridge, which required close liaison with National Grid Gas.
Digital design and off-site construction
The constrained live operating environment influenced the decision to use precast and prefabricated elements. The platforms, a new footbridge and the lifts were designed using 3D computer modelling to refine the interfaces between packages. Prior to off-site manufacture, significant liaison with various subcontractors was undertaken to ensure the geometric fit of the different elements.
Three planned line possessions were scheduled for erection of the main substructure and structural elements.
How we added value
Focus on delivery of the design and packages was achieved by very careful consideration of the interfaces between packages. This approach led to several design innovations:
- An extensive exercise in 3D computer modelling was undertaken to ensure the geometric fit of the designs of different elements before they were manufactured, resulting in construction made up substantially of offsite components. A significant number of liaison meetings were held with the various subcontractors.
- Ramboll specified platform units that were pre-cast in 6m lengths by manufacturer Hering Bau in Germany. These were craned into place in May 2007, during one of the three planned possessions, and sit on simple reinforced trench foundations, designed for construction behind fencing during normal operating hours.
- The footbridge design was modified by Ramboll whilst bidding with Costain in order to remove two of the intermediate foundations and to eliminate the proposed piling. This modification achieved substantial savings in steelwork tonnage.
- The curved steel footbridge that links the platforms was modified by our engineers at an early stage to reduce foundation works, saving substantially on steelwork tonnage.
Awards
- British Construction Industry Awards 2008 – Regeneration award - Winner
- Rail Industry Innovation Awards 2008 – Small Scale Project category - Runner up
- APM Project Management Awards 2008 – Community Project of the Year award - Winner