LOR INFOWORKS 2 - Flipbook - Page 36
INFOWORKS 2019 _ ISSUE 2
35
Edinburgh
St James:
THE STATS
Edinburgh St James, the largest
live project in Scotland, is being
digitally engineered down to the
last nut and bolt. Is this the future
of construction on mega sites and
beyond? The Edinburgh St James
Project Leader from LOR, Tim Kelly,
and the Digital Lead, Clive Daniel,
tell us more about digital simplicity
in real-world complexity.
£
Multi-use
£1bn
1.7 million
square feet
FEATURES
5 levels of retail, food and
beverage space
3 levels of basement parking
(1,600 cars + 600 bikes)
5 screen Everyman cinema
152 residential apartments
A hotel with serviced apartments
dinburgh St James is pretty
much as big, and as complex,
as sites get. The mixed-use
development is a gigantic
multi-use precinct mixing retail and
leisure together with luxury living.
Everything about it is, or will be,
cutting-edge – including the way
it’s being designed and built.
E
HOW IT WORKS
Like many of Laing O’Rourke’s
sites, it is increasingly paperless.
Tablets have replaced briefcases,
printouts, drawings and laminated
portfolios. From engaging stakeholders
to conducting quality assurance,
there’s no longer any need to flick
through thousands of technical drawings.
WHAT IT IS
Edinburgh St James is being built on the
site of the old St James centre which
opened in 1973. It is being constructed
around an existing retail building,
where John Lewis remains in full
operation. And, thanks to the careful,
considered planning and collaborative
working of the people at the helm,
no loss in trading time has been
reported. This is due to its end-to-end
digital methodology.
This digital approach is
completely immersive.
We all use it - design
team, supervisors,
engineers, labourers,
safety managers,
community liaison –
everyone. It’s how we are communicating
and informing each other, and the
stakeholders, from all angles. It’s an
integral part of how we do things,
and it informs everything we do.
It’s not a marketing exercise,
or a gimmick. It’s a working tool.
TIM KELLY
EDINBURGH ST JAMES PROJECT LEAD
One of the biggest,
and most unique things
about this project is
we have full access
to fabrication-level
3D models, which
accurately covers
every single scope of the project –
right down to the finest of details.
Most sub-contractors never do this
for anyone, but they have for us.
CLIVE DANIEL
EDINBURGH ST JAMES DIGITAL LEAD
These incredibly detailed digital models
form a hub, or platform, where all
engagements and operations take
place. Supported by five full-time
digital engineers on site, and up to
a dozen digital sub-contractors at any
one time, the digital elements and skills
needed on the project are proving just
as significant and noteworthy as the
physical ones. à