Hadyn Ellis Building receives a big lift as cranes arrive to erect the frame
Hemel Hempstead, 17 January 2012 - Fast progress on Cardiff University’s Hadyn Ellis Building has taken a giant leap forward – and upwards – with the erection of two saddle jib tower cranes on site at the Maindy Road project.
BAM Construction commenced piling in late September to create foundations for the £20 million building and commenced substructures a month later. Now the arrival of the two cranes will enable the contractor to put up the reinforced concrete frame. The frame will be built over the winter months, allowing cladding work to commence next March.
BAM project manager Justin Price said: ‘People walking past the site will notice rapid progress now that we are onto the frame. Building commenced with the ‘invisible works’ – groundwork and foundation works which are critical to the project but don’t appear over the top of our green and orange hoardings. That will now change rapidly as BAM deploys the two tower cranes, one 35m high and the other 45m high allowing us to put the frame up in around 14 weeks.’
Mr Price added that access and use of the cranes has been offered to the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service for the purposes of emergency training.
Professor Tim Wess, Pro-Vice Chancellor Estates for Cardiff University, said: ‘Cardiff University is extremely pleased to see the progress being made by BAM on the construction of the new Hadyn Ellis Building at its Maindy Park campus. This is a landmark project for the research campus we are planning at Maindy Park. The new building will house state-of-the-art facilities for University research which benefits the wider community, particularly in the fights against cancer and brain diseases.’
BAM – which has offices on Newport Road – says that the peak number of staff on site while the frame is erected will be around 50, all of them coming from South Wales.