Run in partnership with the Institution of Civil Engineers Scotland, the Saltire Society Civil engineering Awards have been running for more than 30 years, during which time they have grown to become one of the highest honours for engineering excellence in Scotland. The awards are intended to encourage the highest standards in the design, conservation, environmental sustainability and construction of civil engineering projects in Scotland.
One of the key aims of the awards is to increase public awareness of the crucially important contribution civil engineering makes to the Scottish economy and society. Previous winners include the Haymarket Station refurbishment in Edinburgh, The Helix urban park and iconic Kelpies at Falkirk and the M80 Stepps to Haggs Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) project.
Saltire Infrastructure Awards 2018
The 24 October saw the 2018 Saltire Infrastructure Awards presented by Kate Forbes MSP, Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy at a ceremony held in the National Museum of Scotland.
Here are this years nominated projects:
Film by Proud Motion.
Winners
Greatest Contribution to Scotland Award
Forth Replacement Crossing
Client: TRANSPORT SCOTLAND
Advisors: JACOBS ARUP
Designer: FORTH CROSSING DESIGN JV (RAMBOLL, SWECO, LEONHARDT, ANDRA UND PARTNER)
Contractor: FCBC JV (HOCHTIEF, DRAGADOS, AMERICAN BRIDGE, MORRISON CONSTRUCTION)
The iconic 1.7 mile (2.7km) Queensferry Crossing – the longest three-tower cable-stayed bridge in the world – forms the centrepiece of the largest infrastructure project in Scotland in a generation (£1.3 billion investment). A new crossing was needed to replace the Forth Road Bridge (FRB), which was nearing the end of its design life and carrying more traffic than originally intended.
The innovative cable-stayed design provides extra strength and stiffness, allowing the towers and the deck to be more slender and elegant.
Digital technology is helping engineers deliver faster, safer and cheaper. Smart sensors built in to the bridge give information about the wind speed, humidity and temperature which can impact on its performance over time and will be used to extend its life. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) help keep traffic moving, improve safety and reduce vehicle emissions.
The unique design means individual strands can be replaced without the need to close the crossing for routine maintenance. Wind shielding on the new bridge means it no longer has to close to traffic during high winds.
An engineering project of extraordinary scale and complexity the Forth Replacement Crossing epitomises professional excellence in all aspects of its design and construction. The state-of-the-art project both safeguards a vital transport
corridor and enhances an already iconic location with its elegant design.
The Infrastructure Award
Shieldhall Tunnel
Client: GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL
Technical Adviser: SWECO
Designer: WYG
NEC Project Manager: GARDINER & THEOBALD
Contractors: VHE CONSTRUCTION
In June 2002, a month’s rain fell on Glasgow in just one afternoon leaving the Southside under several feet of water because the existing sewer could not cope. A hugely ambitious project, the Shieldhall Tunnel is a key part of the £250m partnership programme to transform how the city manages rainfall to end uncontrolled flooding and improve water quality. It is the biggest storm water storage tunnel in Scotland and represents the largest investment in the sewer network since Victorian times.
The project involved the construction of a 5km tunnel – five times the length of the Clyde Tunnel – that can fit a double decker bus inside, and required considerable mineworking consolidation along a challenging route that passed beneath three railway lines, three parks and the M77.
With over 15,000 tonnes of grout placed, a technologically advanced tunnel boring machine was launched through a 200mx6mx10m deep open-cut chamber achieving up to 30m of progress per day.
This tunnel delivers long-term benefits for communities by reducing flooding, helping deal with the impact of climate change, and improving the environment. It also reduces the amount and frequency of waste water discharged from combined sewer overflows, allowing it to be treated onsite. More than 90% of all excavated material was recycled, and the £100m project was delivered within an astonishing two years.
The Building Award
The Macallan Distillery
Client: EDRINGTON
Designers: ROGERS, STIRK HARBOUR AND PARTNERS, ARUP
Contractors: ROBERTSON CONSTRUCTION, SH STRUCTURES
This £140 million flagship distillery and visitor experience will enable Edrington to increase production to meet future demand and create a home for The Macallan that matches the stature of one of the world’s most recognised malt whisky brands.
Tradition meets innovation on the Easter Elchies Estate in Speyside, creating a truly elegant, unique and iconic structure. It combines innovative design with a semi-subterranean production facility supporting a complex but gently undulating timber roof structure which, topped with a wildflower meadow, blends beautifully into the surrounding landscape.
Engineering ingenuity was required to build such a cutting-edge structure alongside existing distillery operations. The new facility presented designers and contractors with many of the challenges typical on a major infrastructure project. These included the environmental constraints imposed by working alongside the River Spey – a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – extensive earthworks and ground stabilisation, stringent Control of
Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) standards, and the installation of over 18km of underground pipework without disturbing the extensive existing network of services.
The contractor used innovative no-dig techniques such as directional drilling to
install services.
True collaboration between the client, the designers and the contractors has created an iconic building that provides a unique visitor experience with a sense of theatre and a state-of-the-art distillery facility.
Engineered in Scotland Award
Camogli Medical Centre – Tristan da Cunha
Client: DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Designer: HUGH BROUGHTON ARCHITECTS LTD, TOP HOUSING PROJECT MANAGEMENT AB
Contractor: MORRISON CONSTRUCTION
The people living on the world’s most remote inhabited island, accessible only by
sea now have modern, fully-functional medical facilities, thanks to Scotland’s engineers. This exceptionally challenging project involved the design and construction of a new healthcare centre on Tristan da Cunha – a semi-dormant volcano lying in the southern Atlantic between the tips of South America and South Africa. Home to just 256 people, health facilities on the island were in poor condition and not fit for purpose.
The new centre has been designed to cope with most medical situations and includes an operating theatre, pharmacy, x-rays, optometry and a dental unit. Its design had to be low maintenance to allow the community to maintain it themselves given the lack of readily available skills in such a tiny community.
With no harbour accessible for ocean-going vessels, the project demanded a huge degree of forward planning and logistics. All materials, plant and equipment had to be delivered on a single ship and transferred to shore.
Housed in a prefabricated sustainable modular building it can withstand high winds and heavy rainfall and seismic activity of magnitude 7.5. Siberian larch cladding was selected for low maintenance and durability, and the building has a low power requirement with twin air handling heat exchangers to handle solar gain.
Off-site construction was maximised and the project was delivered in just18 months from design concept to handover.
Regeneration Award
Sighthill Regeneration
Client: SCOTTISH WATER
Designer: AECOM
Contractor: COSTAIN-VINCI CONSTRUCTION GRANDS PROJETS JOINT VENTURE
The Sighthill area in Glasgow has undergone the first step in its ambitious transformation from a derelict, contaminated landscape to an attractive new urban neighbourhood thanks to civil engineers. The 50 hectare site encompassed numerous industrial facilities including chemical works, above and below ground rail infrastructure, brickworks and landfill from the M8.
Sighthill was home to the St Rollox chemical works – the largest in the world in the early 19th century – which produced sodium carbonate (soda ash or crystals). The manufacturing process was massively inefficient, resulting in the dumping of large amounts of a waste material called galligu. Galligu presents a number of challenges and cannot simply be excavated as the physical handling process can cause its solid state to liquefy.
Engineers mitigated contamination risk to the environment by developing detailed containment and earthworks strategies after investigating and characterising all waste material up to depths of 20 metres, and undertaking extensive groundwater modelling. The galligu was contained by 1.4km slurry wall around main area and a 125,000m² geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) membrane. The earthworks and remediation activities, which included the movement of 1,200,000m3 of soils produced zero waste to landfill.
Sighthill has set a precedent for future works of this kind by achieving zero waste and creating the platform for future development of a 21st-century, connected neighbourhood.