HOTELS & RESORTS
to the trailblazing work that McGee completed for Claridge ’ s Hotel in 2015 / 16 when they took on a job that no other engineering company thought was possible !
Claridge ’ s wanted to increase its capacity by 50 %, adding a five-storey mega basement underneath the hotel . The new 65,000-square-foot underground space would house two swimming pools , a spa , a state-of-the-art wine cellar , a kitchen , and laundry facilities .
This plan was ambitious in itself , but another layer of complexity existed . The hotel needed to remain open throughout the build , and construction works could not disturb the first-class experience that Claridge ’ s Hotel guests expect to receive .
“ Every other company invited to tender wanted to do a traditional project , but the client was adamant that they didn ’ t want to close the hotel . But whenever someone says something can ’ t be done , we say challenge accepted !” Michelle Mackey , Project Engineer , McGee
Sequencing a programme with pioneering techniques The hotel ’ s extension plans carried significant risks . The new mega basement was situated directly underneath Claridge ’ s Art Deco extension , constructed in the 1920s on a single reinforced concrete slab .
McGee ’ s Project Director , Jim Mackey , developed a creative construction plan to be executed by Project Engineer ( and Jim ’ s daughter ), Michelle Mackey .
“ We did some trial works to determine what the existing building structure was made of and what was and wasn ’ t possible , then Jim sat down with our technical department and put together a 3D animation of the sequence .”
With the high-level sequence mapped out , Jim handed the project to Michelle , who needed to turn a static plan into something more dynamic . Michelle chose Asta Powerproject planning and project management software to rise to this challenge .
“ Asta Powerproject enabled me to put in the detail we needed and then roll the programme up , so we could still present a high-level view . We didn ’ t need everyone to see tasks hour by hour , but going into that level of detail meant we could flag any potential issues early on .”
The Claridge ’ s project was divided into multiple phases , starting with a team of miners hand-digging a network of tunnels directly underneath the hotel . They dug down 30 metres to create a series of shafts that would become the hotel ’ s new foundations .
Concrete was poured into the shafts to create the new foundations , and new columns were constructed from within the shafts for the existing hotel building to rest on . Then the team excavated 500 cubic metres of earth from around the columns , using heavy machinery assembled underground , to construct the new five-story basement .
“ Once I set up the programme in Asta Powerproject and tested the first few lines , I felt confident that I could sequence the project from start to finish and there wouldn ’ t be any errors .”
Managing complex time and material schedules It wasn ’ t just construction techniques that challenged McGee . Working on a landmark building in the middle of London also presented logistics challenges , as the excavation work involved removing 45,000 tonnes of clay through one hole just 2.5 metres wide .
McGee could not store waste material on-site due to insufficient space . Instead , materials had to be moved to and from Claridge ’ s daily from a nearby holding yard , with a single loading area on-site . Asta Powerproject delivered the precision planning needed to ensure materials were collected on schedule , preventing programme delays .
“ The Claridge ’ s project was very complex by nature .
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