Civil Infrastructure

Innovative Concrete to Achieve Special Finish | Roadstone

/in /by

Project Title: 

Innovative Concrete to Achieve Special Finish | Roadstone

Location:

Dublin

Client: 

Dublin City University

Business Sectors: 

Civil Infrastructure

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Design of architectural concrete mix.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes:

Opened in late 2018 the open auditorium of DCU’s “U” Building forms the center piece of this state-of-the-art student facility. The design of the auditorium required that all primary structural elements be exposed with a ‘special finish’ to EN 13670:2009 Execution of concrete structures specified for the concrete elements. This special finish placed numerous requirements on the concrete beyond what would be typically expected including: 

  • A light colour 
  • Consistency of colour 
  • Minimal blemishes 
  • “DCU SU” embossed lettering 

To aid in achieving uniformity of colour and finish Roadstone tested the consistency of each load of concrete prior to dispatch to site and maintained close communication with site engineers for the duration of the project.  

Completed in separate pours over a six-month period, over 20 loads of architectural concrete were supplied to DCU Hub. As well as meeting the demands of an architectural finish the concrete also met structural and durability requirements. 

Our Role: 

An architectural concrete was required to achieve the special finish and the specific design team requirements for the concrete used in the central auditorium.  

The design of the architectural concrete mix required a slightly different approach to that of conventional concrete mixes, with particular attention placed on the mix proportions of the cements and aggregates. A relatively high cement content was required with the proportion of sand in the mix not being twice that of the cement content.

In addition, a single sized 20mm coarse aggregate was used. Designing the mix in this manner resulted in a gap graded mix and allowed for the finer materials in the mix to migrate to the formwork surface following placement and compaction, producing a high-quality finish with minimal blemishes. 

Sample panels were poured to assess the performance of the architectural concrete mix and the workmanship required to achieve a high-quality finish prior to pours commencing. This allowed for an assessment of a variety of criteria and their impact on the quality of the concrete finish. 

This aided the concrete contractor, site engineers and Roadstone concrete technologists in understanding the impact of workmanship and the concrete mix on the concrete finish. The criteria included: 

  • Type of formwork 
  • Grout-tight formwork joints 
  • The release agent and its application 
  • The method and rate of placement of the concrete 
  • The suitability and consistency of the concrete mix 
  • The compaction plan 
  • The most suitable time at which to strike the formwork

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Diarmuid McCarty (dmccarty@roadstone.ie)

Cross Tay Link Road | Rubicon Heritage

/in /by

Project Title: 

Cross Tay Link Road | Rubicon Heritage

Location:

Perth, Scotland

Date: 

2019

Client: 

Perth and Kinross Council

Business Sectors: 

Civil Infrastructure

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Archaeological evaluation of the proposed route of the new road including the excavation of machine dug trenches and hand dug test pits and geophysical survey. The Cross Tay Link Road will link the A93, A94 and A9 by way of dual carriageway realignment, a grade separation junction and a new bridge crossing the River Tay and adjacent Railway.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes:

The objective of the project was to determine the presence, extent and significance of any known or unknown archaeology with the footprint of the proposed road scheme.

A total of 476 trial trenches were excavated along the route of the proposed scheme, each measuring 25m by 2m. This confirmed the presence of a probable Iron Age multivallate hillfort with an internal souterrain and a small number of additional finds of Bronze Age and Iron Age archaeology. This provided sufficient information to allow a mitigation strategy to be development in advance of any road construction in order to manage archaeological risk.

In addition, geophysical survey and hand dug test pitting was undertaken within the site of Bertha Roman Fort, a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This confirmed the extent of the archaeology and also the depth of topsoil. This information was required to assist with the design of temporary access routes necessary during construction.

Our Role: 

  • Health and Safety Management
  • Traffic management
  • Landowner liaison
  • Liaison with statutory and local authorities
  • Archaeological compliance
  • Environmental management
  • Supply of an ecological clerk of works
  • Aerial survey of the route
  • Supply of plant and welfare facilities along the route
  • Topographic survey
  • Archaeological excavation and recording of trenches
  • Geophysical survey
  • Post-fieldwork analysis
  • Preparation of the technical report

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Colm Moloney (colm.moloney@rubiconheritage.com)

Chetwynd Reservoir Internal Inspection | Murphy Geospatial

/in , /by

Project Title:

Chetwynd Reservoir Internal Inspection | Murphy Geospatial

Location:

Cork, Ireland

Client: 

Malachy Walsh & Partners / Irish Water

Business Sectors: 

Civil Infrastructure / Water Resources

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Upon receipt of an initial enquiry regarding the ability to obtain UAV captured images of the internal concrete wall of the reservoir, we gained an understanding of what Malachy Walsh & Partners required. Due to difficulties in ensuring reliable communications with a UAV, Murphy Geospatial suggested an alternative approach which was accepted by our client.

Upon award of the contract, Murphy Geospatial coordinated with multiple stakeholders to ensure all necessary preparations were made. The reservoir was emptied for the purposes of the inspection and any necessary repair, so the inspection needed to be carried out within a certain window of opportunity.

A two-man team was used to carry out the survey. With all appropriate PPE, including rope access harness and confined space kits, our inspectors used a 10 m telescopic pole in 3 radial bands around the internal wall of the reservoir at increasing heights. The pole had high-intensity LED lights to illuminate the wall and a high-definition HDR camera which could be remotely operated from the ground. A preview of the image was visible to the inspectors to ensure high quality results and avoid blurred images etc. before moving to the next section.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

Murphy Geospatial delivered a set of high-quality photographs enabling an appropriate engineering assessment to be carried out.

Our client was able to proceed with their engineering assessment with confidence. Our combined efforts, along with other project stakeholders, partly ensures that residents of Cork City will have a secure water supply for years to come.

Our Role:

Murphy Geospatial was approached by Malachy Walsh & Partners to assist with the structural inspection of a key part of the water supply infrastructure in Cork City. High-quality visual inspection data was required to identify any defects in the post-tensioned concrete Chetwynd water reservoir structure, south of the city. The internal space was classified as confined space working, perfectly suited to our specialist inspection skills. Murphy Geospatial proposed a bespoke solution to capture the data required, fixing remotely operated high-definition cameras and LED lights to a telescopic pole.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

David Graham (dgraham@murphysurveys.ie)

Cliffs of Moher Coach Park Reception Building | Roadstone

/in /by

Project Title:

Cliffs of Moher Coach Park Reception Building | Roadstone

Date:

2018

Location:

Co. Clare, Ireland

Client: 

The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre

Business Sectors: 

Civil Infrastructure

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Design and manufacture of architectural grade concrete.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

The Cliffs of Moher visitor centre in Co. Clare developed a new Coach Park Reception Building in 2018.

The construction of the building required a number of concrete mix designs which were both functional and visually appealing.

Architectural grade concrete was specified throughout the interior and exterior of the building including floors, walls and ceilings. The designers for this project specified a fair faced concrete finish to negate the requirement for any painting, cladding or finishing materials to be applied to the surface.  A variety of finishes were required including polished concrete and exposed aggregate, according to the location within the building.

Our Role:

Roadstone designed and manufactured an architectural grade concrete suitable for use as a finished product, whilst also ensuring consistency of finish could be achieved.

In order to do so the proportions of all materials were carefully processed and mixed to ensure designed ratios were achieved

All constituent materials were closely monitored to guarantee consistency throughout the project resulting in a consistent concrete colour and finish.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Dermot McCarty (dmccarty@roadstone.ie)

Developing a Routable Network Using Canal Towpaths for the 2022 Commonwealth Games | Compass Informatics 

/in /by

Project Title:

Developing a routable network using canal towpaths for the 2022 Commonwealth Games | Compass Informatics

Date:

03/2020 – 07/2020

Location:

Birmingham/ West Midlands, United Kingdom

Client: 

Canals and Rivers Trust (CRT)

Business Sectors: 

Infrastructure

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Our team complied data from Ordnance Survey, NaPTAN and the CRT’s tow paths dataset to create a routable network between sporting venues and transport nodes.

156 Routes were generated between venues using the road network, canal towpaths and a further 33,000 possible routes when combined with public transport nodes within a 5KM radius of each venue.

Compass Informatics used its proprietary routing software to generate the network.

The data was managed using Python programming, QGIS and ArcGIS with the final package delivered to the client as an ESRI file geo-database.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

The primary objective was to assess the possible routes that could be taken to travel between venues as spectators make their way to events. Using canal tow paths could be used to divert pedestrians away from the road network.

The network will be used to model the movement of people identify areas of congestion and help inform where facilities such as toilets and refreshments should be located.

Using Compass Informatics routing software, costs can be added to different types of routes to encourage pedestrians to utilize underused infrastructure such as canal towpaths.

Our Role:

Our team’s role was to compile the data, apply the routing algorithm and test the results. Once validated the data was packaged, documented and handed over to the CRT to be included in their planning for the 2020 games.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Gearóid O’Riain/ goriain@compassinformatics.com

GIS WebTech – Property Search & Demographics | Compass Informatics

/in , /by

Project Title:

GIS WebTech – Property Search & Demographics | Compass Informatics

Date:

03/2017 – Present

Location:

United States

Client: 

GIS WebTech

Business Sectors: 

Infrastructure/ Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Compass Informatics developed a web map that enables users to search for commercial properties within a specified geographic/administrative area with particular attributes. The user can browse properties either in a map view or a list view.

The system uses ESRI map data and pulls demographic data for the specified region using ESRI JS API 4 and hosted with MS Azure.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

The tool enables communities to promote commercial properties to prospective tenants. When deciding on a commercial location, organisations may want to consider multiple factors, such as proximity a port, airport, university or affordable housing. GIS WebTech enables users to quickly search and view properties by criteria and make better decisions faster. It also enables communities to promote aspects of their portfolio that may not be well publicized.

Our Role:

Our team was responsible for the end to end development of the platform from initial requirements gathering, solution architecture, UX and testing and deployment.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Gearoid O’Riain (goriain@compassinformatics.com)

World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF | Compass Informatics

/in , /by
Project Title

World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF | Compass Informatics

Date

02/2020 – 03/2020

Location

London, UK

Client

World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF UK

Business Sectors

Infrastructure/Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines)

The WWF provided Compass with coordinates of up to 2000 linear projects with start and end points across the world. Compass was also provided with a rasterised elevation model and existing infrastructure sourced from OSM.

Compass Informatics first cleaned and attributed the data whilst discussing the possible business rules and costings with the client team. Using ArcPy and ArcGIS, Compass was able to apply linear referencing to the data and was able to model the routes the projects were likely to take. This model provides flexibility to accept different datasets, accommodate different suitability criteria, work with weighted criteria and define land use types. The analysis of the model was be divided into 4 stages:

  • Stage1: Data Collection, Collation and criteria evaluation,
  • Stage2: Reclassification,
  • Stage3: Implementing the multi-criteria analysis
  • Stage4: Route Selection and Evaluation

To assess the possible environmental impacts Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) can incorporate spatial data and stakeholders’ preferences into quantified values for assessment (Malczewski 2004)[1]. A powerful component of a GIS decision support system is its ability to visualise the context of a problem and its alternative solutions (Gomes and Lins 2002). Therefore, the integration of a GIS decision support system and MCDA model can provide a method to evaluate several alternatives, based on multiple classified criteria.

[1] Malczewski, Jacek. (2004). GIS-based Land-use Suitability Analysis: A Critical Overview. Progress in Planning. 62. 3-65. 10.1016/j.progress.2003.09.002.

Project Outcomes/Objectives

Our team ran two training sessions with the WWF’s conservation intelligence team to hand over the model and run through how to deploy is Arc GIS analyst. The model is now used by WWF team across the globe to assess possible environmental risks from BRI projects and lobby the appropriate local authorities.

Our Role

Our role was to clean, consolidate and analyse a dataset of over 2000 BRI projects. We plotted the likely linear route of each project using costing for a variety of variable just as land use, topography and existing infrastructure. New data and new costings can be applied to the model and our team ran training sessions with client stakeholders so the model could be used by WWF staff and contractors

Geoscience Ireland Contact

Gearóid O’Riain (goriain@compassinformatics.com)

Project Fitzwilliam, ESB HQ | ByrneLooby

/in /by

Project Title

Project Fitzwilliam, ESB HQ | ByrneLooby

Location

Dublin, Ireland

Client

PJ Hegarty

Business Sectors

  • Civil Infrastructure

Services (Technical Disciplines)

  • Detailed Design
  • Construction Sequencing
  • Temporary Works Design
  • Construction Supervision

Project Objectives/Outcomes

Project Fitzwilliam is situated on Lower Fitzwilliam Street within the heart of Dublin City centre and is the site of the former ESB headquarters. This new 45,000 sqm development, which comprises of an entire city block, will deliver a near zero energy building, one of the most efficient and sustainable commercial office developments in Dublin city, while sensitively respecting and enhancing the Georgian streetscape.

The development involves the demolition of 4 former building blocks and each of their basements. The new structure comprises the deepening and integration of the basements to form a single site-wide triple level substructure along with a new 7 storey office building. Approximately 50% of the site was underlain by a former quarry, historically backfilled in an uncontrolled manner.

Our Role

Our Geotechnical Engineering team of experts in Dublin’s involvement in Project Fitzwilliam initiated in assisting PJ Hegarty in their tender, by developing a practical construction sequence and risk mitigation measures associated with the demolition and subsequent basement works.

On project commencement, ByrneLooby acted as specialist designers for P.J. Edwards for the detailed design of the perimeter secant pile wall. The secant wall comprised of approximately 400 linear metres, with over 650 No. piles to be installed. The wall was restrained with pre-stressed glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) anchors under streetscapes. GFRP anchors were chosen and agreed with DCC to avoid obstructing potential future service installation beneath the adjacent streets.

ByrneLooby also produced a detailed design of the 450 foundation bearing piles and 150 anti-flotation anchors for the substructure.

ByrneLooby acted as temporary works designer for PJ Hegarty throughout the project and assisted with a wide range of elements on site.

Geoscience Ireland Contact

Maurice Ryan (MRyan@ByrneLooby.com )

Design Review of Approximately 321km of the Lusaka to Ndola Dual Carriageway | Nicholas O’Dwyer

/in /by

Project Title

Design Review of Approximately 321km of the Lusaka to Ndola Dual Carriageway, (T002/T003) including bypass roads in Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi and 45km of the Luanshya-Fisenge-Masangano Road

Location

Lusaka – Ndola, Zambia

Client

National Road Fund Agency

Business Sectors

Civil Infrastructure

Services (Technical Disciplines)

Preliminary Design

Project Objectives/Outcomes

The project section of the Road starts from Lusaka and stretches an estimated distance of 321km to Ndola.

The project also covers works for construction of bypasses in Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi and the construction of the Luanshya to Fisenge to Masangano Road.

The road section is now earmarked for upgrading to bituminous standard.

Our Role

  • Review of previous designs
  • Field investigations
  • Review of Design of Main Contractor

Geoscience Ireland Contact

Michel Davitt – mdavitt@nodwyer.com

Thirlmere Links Mains | ByrneLooby

/in /by

Project Title

Thirlmere Links Mains | ByrneLooby

Date

2020

Location

Thirlmere, UK

Client

FarransRoadbridge JV

Business Sectors

Civil Infrastructure

Services (Technical Disciplines)

  • Temporary works design
  • Detailed design
  • Earthworks
  • Access road design
  • Construction Supervision

Project Objectives/Outcomes

Thirlmere Links Mains is a major water mains project which involved laying and relining more than 100km of pipes to supply water to homes and businesses from Thirlmere Reservoir, Cumbria, UK.

The scheme is designed to ease pressure on environmentally sensitive local water sources and provide a secure, long term supply for the area. A joint venture between Roadbridge and Farrans were appointed to deliver 32km of large diameter twin water mains and 24km of large diameter water mains.

The £300m project also involves the construction of new water treatment works, two service reservoirs and a new pumping station.

Our Role

ByrneLooby were engaged by FarransRoadbridge JV to provide temporary works design services to the project.

These designs have included hoardings, formwork, thrust blocks, stockpile batter assessments, a lagoon bund, a temporary dam, service supports, excavation batter assessments, earthwork reinstatement works, temporary walkways, access roads and retaining walls.

Through collaborating and communicating effectively with our client, we have been able to offer efficient design solutions that have allowed FarransRoadbridge JV to progress their construction works.

Geoscience Ireland Contact

MRyan@ByrneLooby.com

GSI Logo DCCAE Logo
DFA Logo EI Logo