Graduates and students in the region gathered to attend our
Young Members’ Panel summer event on Wednesday 10th July. The
afternoon began with a site visit to Birmingham New Street Station, kindly
facilitated by MACE. The
group visited New Street as it is by far the most significant engineering project
in our region.
The visit included a photo-story presentation of construction
to date, with intriguing anecdotes about the various structural, natural and
logistical challenges that have been overcome so far. Much of the story
concerned the new John
Lewis building, which required splicing with very heavy-looking connections to
allow construction to progress, and has experienced issues around core
construction caused by below-freezing temperatures. Everyone involved in the
New Street project was clearly very pleased to have passed the 28 April
switchover milestone, where the newly constructed half of the station was
opened and the old concourse closed. The team had worked round the clock to
meet the switchover date.
Once in the site, our young engineers could witness progress
first-hand. The atrium roof should prove a brilliant feature when it’s
completed, and they were also able to get a close look at the steels of the
John Lewis building (which will eventually be hidden by fit-out and services). After
the site visit, further discussion was had at The Sun on the Hill, an excellent
way to round off the evening!
A huge thank you must go to Tom McDermott from MACE for
coordinating with the Young members Panel to organise this event and to John
Baxter from MACE, Kevin James from Network Rail and David Oliver from Atkins
for accompanying the group on this visit and answering our questions.
Events
like this are invaluable for young members who are perhaps unable to visit
sites as frequently as they might like. These trips allow them to see how their
work might be realised, and encourage them to think about the potential
challenges that arise on site.
We are currently looking for volunteers to help us organise
events for the 2013/14 academic year, so if you’d like to get involved please
let us know at istructeymp@gmail.com.
Post author: Tasha Scott
Post author: Tasha Scott
