Mersey makeover

Before the Fab Four were even a twinkle in George Martin’s eye, Liverpool had produced its first true rock ‘n’ roll idol, Billy Fury. Since then, Merseyside has nurtured the talents of an inspiring stream of musicians, including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Echo and the Bunnymen, The La’s and more recently The Coral.

In fact, Liverpool has had more number one singles than any other city on the planet. That’s 56 for all trivia aficionados. So, you’d be hard pushed to find a better place to build a spectacular 10 600-seat arena than King’s Waterfront, the largest scheme on Liverpool’s Albert Dock.

Ringo Starr headlined at the grand opening of Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool (ACC) on 12 January, which marked the beginning of the city’s year as European Capital of Culture. However, the year’s line-up also promises non-musical events as diverse as property show Your Move Live, the Liberal Democrats’ Spring Conference, Supercross speedway championships and Premier League darts.

Retractable seating within the arena maximises floorspace, paving the way for such a wide range of functions.

Haden Young’s electrical services project manager, Brian Heaton, explains: “The arena can be adapted for various sports, concerts and exhibitions. We’ve installed bespoke panels with sockets and various distribution board points. We put power points at a set distance around the auditorium’s gantries, and then the firms that are putting on the productions can set up their own spotlights to suit their particular requirements.

“We just put the infrastructure in. This enables people to plug in what they want to, because every show’s different.”

Entertainment technology projects company LSI provided the sound and communication systems, along with the infrastructure for the production lighting. The firm has provided sound, lighting, audio-visual and suspension solutions for a range of performance venues such as theatres, concert halls and outdoor arenas.

Architect Wilkinson Eyre linked the arena via a glazed galleria to one of the largest conference centres in the UK, which contains an auditorium suitable for 1350 delegates.

A third section comprises a 3725 m2 multi-purpose hall. Supporting the complex is a 1600-space multi-storey car park and piazza with an ambitious external lighting scheme and provisions for outdoor events.

Haden Young won the contract for m&e works in a 77-week project originally worth £15 million, which was raised to in excess of £20 million due to client modifications. Ancillary systems including fire alarms, PA and access control were subcontracted to specialist Protech Security.

Although the entire complex was set to be completed in time for the Capital of Culture opening celebrations in January, the convention centre is now unlikely to be finished until Easter 2008.

The Haden Young team benefited from 3D modelling managed by Wilkinson Eyre. In addition, all specifications and plans were loaded onto the extranet via BIW’s project collaboration tool. The computerised approach aided project control dramatically, according to Haden Young, and helped it co-ordinate with main contractor Bovis Lend Lease.

“It’s a different way of doing things to the one we’re used to, but it’s coming in more and more these days. On our last project with Balfour Beatty, it had a similar system,” explains Heaton.

“Everyone, whether it’s contractors, specialists or builders, has access to those drawings at a moment’s notice. It cuts down on time and minimises paperwork.”

However, communication was often a problem in other respects. According to Heaton, cutting out the middle man at the design stage would have gone a long way towards preventing subsequent installation challenges.

“The m&e was provisionally designed by Faber Maunsell in St Albans, Hertfordshire. When the project actually commenced, that design was passed on to the Faber Maunsell office in Liverpool,” he explains.

“There hasn’t been a lot of input from St Albans with us as a site installation team. It’s all been liaised through the Liverpool branch. Any issues have then been discussed between Liverpool and St Albans. And St Albans is a long, long way away from Liverpool.”

The main heating and ventilation cables are on ladder rack, with perforated tray specified for the low-voltage distribution.

“The trunking systems are for the general lighting and power and then we have Cablofil basket for the ancillary systems. On my last project, the Queen’s Park Hospital in Blackburn, I used basket for everything, because that was a Private Finance Initiative.’

Haden Young has a national agreement with Cablofil.

“It’s one of our recognised suppliers. The price is right and it’s good equipment – definitely the better end of the basket market,” says Heaton. “Deliveries are reliable and Cablofil gives immediate response to our requirements,” he adds.

Access was a challenge for Haden Young. The team had to introduce many cherry-pickers and scissor lifts, as much of the containment was at high levels. Cablofil was also helpful here. The system has less components to transport than traditional tray and is lighter.

However, Haden Young also specified Legrand for a comprehensive cable management system comprising ladder, tray, trunking and specially reinforced floor units. More than 7 km of hot-dipped galvanised tray and 5 km of lighting and multiple compartment power trunking were installed throughout the complex.

In addition, Legrand’s standard floorboxes were specifically redesigned to include a reinforced flush-floor unit that accepted specialist floor covering in the public gallery.

Although Heaton is satisfied with the end result, he admits that some aspects of the installation were frustratingly dated. Had Haden Young not been tied to a “cautious” approach from consultant Faber Maunsell, says Heaton, his team would have favoured more modern, fast-track methods of installation.

“In the UK, it depends who you’re working with. Some people have adapted to change very easily, but a lot of consultants have archaic specifications, and they will not move from what they expect to see,” says Heaton.

“There were lots of things we could have moved forward with to bring the installation up to modern day practice with regards to support, but the specification called for traditional trapeze brackets, and that’s what we’ve had to install. And in many areas, we would have preferred basket rather than cable tray as well.”

He adds: “There’s a lot of accountability behind using new products, so the consultant just went for the safe option, which is understandable.”

Heaton may be sympathetic to Faber Maunsell’s plight, but Haden Young is certainly not planning on being left behind.

“What’s coming into the UK industry now is modular wiring installations and modular systems of containment. These have been used in Europe for many, many years so are successfully tried and tested.

“We’ve now opened two factories that manufacture modular systems, so we can actually get sets of containment up to 15 metres long. It comes with everything on it – pipework, trunking, trays. It’s all built under factory conditions, which makes it a lot more reliable for health and safety.”

The modular systems are jacked up into position, with joints in the pipework required every 15 metres, as opposed to the usual three.

“It saves us time, and with a lot of the projects Haden Young is taking on during the next couple of years, that’s the way we’re looking forward.”

This philosophy extends to the power supply. At Liverpool Arena, all on-site switchgear is in packaged substations. There are six on the project in total.

“Basically, it’s an internal ring, taken from the national ring main,” explains Heaton. “The arena has its own internal ring main and there are six separate transformers out there on site. It’s not unusual on this type of project.”

ACC Liverpool has been billed as one on the greenest arenas in Europe. Heaton raises his eyebrows somewhat cynically when I enquire about the label, although he dutifully reels off the stats.

“It is an eco-friendly building. Three low-noise wind turbines are being erected by Bovis to subsidise some of the power required by the lighting installations.”

In total, just 10% of the energy consumed by ACC Liverpool is derived from renewable sources on site. However, all other mains energy is provided by Scottish Power’s green portfolio, which means it is generated by wind or hydro electric power.

The inclusion of passive infra-red (PIR) heat sensing means lights switch on automatically when a presence is detected. Rainwater will also be harvested from the roof of the building. This will be used to flush toilets.

Co-ordinating the mechanical services and fitting them into confined spaces was a big challenge. Mike Knowles, project manager for the mechanical side of the Haden Young installation, knows all about co-ordination issues.

“It’s large ductwork up there. You’re talking 1800 mm diameter – you could walk through it. It had to be lifted with fork lifts,” he says.

“All the plant had to be craned up and assembled on site. The access down by the river is congested, and materials had to be delivered as and when required rather than stored. It was difficult.”

Supplies had to be ordered and delivered to site just 24 hours before they were needed. Bovis employed construction logistics company Clipfine to manage the deliveries, which were mostly derived from an allocated Edmundson Electrical warehouse in Stockport, Cheshire.

The complex’s air-handling units were custom-made by County Durham-based specialist Barkell.

Knowles supervised the installation of two large chillers, supplied by McQuay, at the top end of the complex’s 1600-space car park, with pipework running throughout the building. These serve the arena, the conference centre and the multi-purpose hall through one central chilling plant.

The three-part project has undoubtedly been an ambitious one, but although the Liverpool Echo Arena’s riverside location may have been a challenge for the players, it certainly helps shake off Liverpool’s image as a mere northern industrial city once and for all. Anyone for a luxury cruise down the Mersey?