Arup’s Heritage WorkA Cultural Heritage Week publication

19-23October

2015

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Photography © Hufton+Crow

Arup has a depth of experience applying our specialist skills to prestigious heritage projects. As part of our strong commitment to promoting the cultural heritage agenda worldwide, we are excited to be running Arup Cultural Heritage week: a series of events that includes the hosting of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) 50th Anniversary Conference on Thursday 22nd October 2015.

Arup first came to global prominence with its innovative structural design for the Sydney Opera House. Perhaps less well known is our extensive heritage work which includes revitalising Amsterdam’s historic New Rijksmuseum, using civil engineering to conserve the river wall at the Tower of London and uncovering archaeology beneath major infrastructure projects such as Crossrail.

Arup brings together broad-minded individuals from a wide range of disciplines and encourages them to look beyond the constraints of their own specialisms, collaborating with others to achieve the best solution for each project.

This document offers an eclectic snapshot of Arup’s work across the heritage field. If you would like more information or to discuss a potential project please get in touch.

Arup is an independent firm of engineers, designers, planners, consultants and technical specialists. We operate globally, bringing creativity and technical excellence to everything we do. We shape a better world.

Deborah LazarusStructural EngineerHeritage Specialistheritage@arup.com

Introduction

New Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Snape Maltings, Suffolk

St Pancras Renaissance, London

A critically-acclaimed refurbishment and extension of the existing museum complex, which dates from 1885, including recovery of original architecture and comprehensive re-configuration of mechanical and electrical systems. A principal challenge for the design team was how to integrate new building services – including air supply, heating, cooling and up-to-date electrical and telecommunications systems – with the museum’s original geometry and exhibition spaces. The project’s overriding vision was to restore the Rijksmuseum’s early architectural glory and this required Arup’s mechanical, electrical and public health engineers to develop innovative solutions. These included a dramatic departure from conventional methods for preventing interstitial condensation in favour of a sustainable, low-impact approach.

Arup’s involvement with Snape Maltings dates back to the mid-1960s, when we were the architect and engineer for the building’s original transformation from a redundant agricultural building into one of Britain’s most prestigious – and distinctive – concert halls. Since then, our engineers, architects and technical specialists, not least our acousticians, have contributed to further refurbishments and extensions. Our work at Snape Maltings has included specialist advice on issues such as the introduction of fire protection measures sympathetic to the building’s heritage.

Restoration of the Grade I listed St Pancras Chambers to form the 5 star, 245 room St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and 68 luxury apartments. The project required a balance between the client’s ambition to provide a 21st Century space for their clientele and English Heritage’s desire to minimise intervention to the historic building.Through careful spatial planning and the intro-duction of new mezzanines, dynamic and coherent living spaces were created from a mass of out-dated rooms. Even the servants’ quarters were transformed into desirable duplex apartments. We worked in close consultation with English Heritage to minimise alterations, in line with principles of conservation, and collaborated with services engineers to minimise the impact of threading modern services through the historic fabric on the existing structure from both an architectural and structural viewpoint.

Photography © Iwan Baan

Photography © Arup Associates

Photography © Hufton+Crow

Corbin Building, Fulton Center,New York City

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Constructed in 1889, the Corbin Building was a highly decorative Romanesque Revival style skyscraper that pushed the boundaries of engineering design. An early prototype for the Gustavino tile arch vaulting system at completion, it stood as the tallest building in Manhattan.We developed a design for the restoration and enhancement of the building’s architectural elements to seamlessly integrate with the adjacent transit centre. A key goal was to provide enhanced lateral stability to the structure and improved floor load capacity, while allowing for the installation of deep passenger escalators terminating well below foundation level.

Arup was approached by the Victoria and Albert Museum to assist in the creation of new galleries through a combination of refurbishment and extension of the existing Grade 1 listed building. Our challenge was to develop a low energy system that could maintain stable environmental conditions for the irreplaceable artefacts in the Europe and Medieval and Renaissance Galleries, whilst illuminating them as much as possible with natural daylight.We developed a novel and sophisticated control system that harnessed natural climate swings and the fabric of the building to maintain conditions suitable for art conservation using only ventilation and heating. This innovative approach led to reductions in energy usage, running costs and carbon dioxide emissions of the galleries, showing that it is possible to create high quality gallery spaces that don’t rely on energy intensive processes.

Photography © Wade ZimmermanPhotography © Alan Williams

Central Police Station, Hong Kong

King Street Station,Seattle

Redevelopment of the largest remaining historical compound in Hong Kong as a new centre for heritage, leisure and the arts. Arup was appointed by the Jockey Club of Hong Kong to provide a full suite of engineering and specialist services for the conservation of the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison as well as new build elements. Our team worked with leading architects, including Herzog & de Meuron on the redevelopment plan, and proposed structural solutions that minimise overall construction cost.

Seattle’s historic King Street Station was built in 1906 and remains the city’s primary railway station for incoming rail commuters as well as inter-state rail passengers. With a distinctive clock tower and Beaux Arts features, the station is an important heritage building and one that has survived a number of seismic events. Renovation of the station involved renewal of building services – mechanical, electrical and public health systems – as well as structural and civil designs to strengthen the clock tower against future seismic activity. A focus on sustainable design proved successful and the building was awarded LEED Platinum status following its renovation.

Photography © Cheung TsunRender © Herzog and de Meuron

Photography © Benjamin Benschneider-Otto

Grand Hotel,Birmingham

This Grade II listed hotel had suffered a history of poor quality repairs which added layers of cement, paint and resin to the entire façade, masking the dramatic decay of the stone beneath. When Arup were first contacted by the client, the hotel was on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk register. We undertook a series of investigations to gauge the condition of the masonry, advised on the causes of decay and oversaw plans for repairs, covering aesthetic as well as technical concerns.Our design concepts and repair strategies were delivered on site by stonemasons using traditional tools and techniques to conserve almost every piece of decorative carving, and most of the plain stone, by hand. The final result is better than we could have hoped for at the outset of the project, not only ensuring the building’s survival but unlocking its commercial future.

Photography © Ian Cooper & Thomas Pearson, Arup

Before After

Lowther Castle and Gardens, Cumbria

Trinity College of Music, London

York Minster, York

The restoration of Lowther Castle, Gardens and Stables Courtyard provides a new sustainable visitor attraction in the Lake District National Park. The Grade II* listed stables block has been refurbished creating a new and innovative visitor centre. Arup produced a sustainable development plan to provide a framework for assessing and implementing sustainability objectives for the project during design, construction and operation phases. New services were limited by use of passive systems including extensive use of natural ventilation and exposed thermal mass to avoid active systems. Arup identified systems to limit the interventions to building fabric and worked closely with the project team to conceal services into spaces that required new works as part of the restoration, limiting their impact on the historic and listed elements of the building.

Remodelling and fitting-out of a Grade I-listed structure, originally part of Greenwich Naval College, and now home to Trinity School of Music. Arup’s team designed solutions to allow for the modernisation and extension of heating, plumbing and electrical systems to the King Charles Building as well as the installation of passenger and goods lifts in shafts formed within the building’s historic internal walling. The project also involved the introduction of air conditioning to a new recital room, recording studio and other areas. These spaces, together with the practice rooms, required innovative interventions to produce the necessary acoustic performance.

In the late 1960s, a survey revealed serious cracking at York Minster, with areas of significant concern including the central tower, east wall and western towers. In what was one of Arup’s earliest major projects involving a heritage building, we worked with the architects Feilden + Mawson to develop a solution that involved underpinning the minster’s foundations to spread loads more equitably. Structural integrity was further strengthened by the addition of stainless steel reinforcement. Repair to and restoration of the minster’s fabric included elimination of Death Watch beetle from roof structures and attention to masonry.

Photography © Andy Marshall

Photography © Tim Soar

Photography © Shepherd Building Group

Tower Bridge, London

Arup provided a full set of engineering services to support improvements to the setting and visitor experience at one of English Heritage’s flagship sites, the Tower of London. An example of the potential for civil engineering to conserve an historic structure, the project included remodelling of the moat embankment to create a pedestrian ramp as well as refurbishment and conservation of listed buildings and design of new structures such as the Tower Hill Vaults canopy and a new visitor centre. This project was instrumental in supporting English Heritage’s efforts to accommodate high visitor numbers and to upgrade facilities without undermining the integrity of this World Heritage Site. Arup’s detailed geotechnical knowledge of London helped to prevent any complications due to nearby transport infrastructure. More recently, Arup stepped in to assess the Tower’s river wall which was being dangerously undermined. We designed and supervised construction of emergency works and then a long term solution to protect this historic structure.

Photography © Arup

Manningham Mills, Bradford

Lessons from Aceh Midlands Goods Shed, London

Conversion of two derelict silk mills into residential apartments, live/work spaces, commercial offices and retail units. Arup worked closely with Latham Architects and Urban Splash to stabilise these Victorian industrial structures and to develop viable and cost-effective designs for new, primarily residential, use. The first mill included arched floors cast in an early form of concrete and supported on a cast-iron frame. For the second building, Arup developed solutions that minimised the extent of intervention, reducing redevelopment cost. Redevelopment of the mills site is seen as a key catalyst for the regeneration of the Manningham area.

‘Lessons from Aceh’ is an independent report prepared by Arup after the DEC Assurance Mission in Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami. It sets out key topics, challenges and inter-relationships in post-disaster reconstruction while providing examples of best and worst practice drawing on collective learning from NGO programmes in Aceh and elsewhere. An important theme in the report is ways in which reconstruction can act as a catalyst to recovery for communities that have not only been affected by natural disasters but also been subject to long term conflicts and stresses. The report emphasizes the role of reconstruction programmes in rebuilding community trust, ownership and responsibility: laying the foundations of a resilient community and crucially, taking into account the political, social and cultural context.

Arup provided structural and geotechnical engineering advice for the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed, 1850s, Midland Goods Shed and East Handyside Canopy to provide a new and exciting retail and commercial space. Drawing on the expertise of historic materials, construction pathology, advanced analysis and BIM, we undertook the appraisal of the existing structural fabric and delivered design advice from initial concept right through to construction for the redevelopment, preserving the building’s varied and idiosyncratic Victorian character. Advanced computer modelling, informed by our experience with historic brickwork, enabled us to confidently predict the impact of redevelopment of the Midlands Goods Shed on the historic masonry rail tunnels just a few metres below the building. We also advised on the state-of-the-art technology used to monitor the tunnels throughout the works.

Photography © Richard Wall

Image © Bennetts Associates

Newton and Arkwright Buildings,University of Nottingham

City Resilience Index

This major university project included sympathetic refurbishment of two Grade II* listed 19th century buildings, linked by a new glazed structure to create a vibrant new heart for the city centre campus as well as lecture and administrative spaces. Given that the two buildings had not originally been designed to work together, a key project challenge was development of solutions in keeping with both buildings’ heritage. Maximising environmental performance was another priority, with Arup’s design incorporating secondary glazing as well as new heating and cooling systems that had to be carefully integrated within original fabric and structures.

Urban resilience – the ability of cities and urban communities to evolve and adapt to changing circumstances and extreme events – will determine the future of many cities. The City Resilience Index is being developed by Arup as a tool for urban populations to understand and track the resilience of their urban systems. Along with conventionally prioritised resilience systems such as protective infrastructure and sustainable economies, the CRI recognizes the critical value of collective community identity and culture in urban resilience, bringing it to the table as one of twelve equally weighted indicators that determine the ability of a city to recover from a shock.

Photography © Martine Hamilton Knight Waterfront dwelling in Can Tho, Vietnam Photography © Sam Kernaghan, Arup

High Speed 1

High Speed 1, linking London and Paris, was England’s first high speed railway at 300kph. The ground breaking project also provided additional fast commuter services to London and sparked regeneration along its route.Environmental risks were an early priority, with archaeology and ecology being two key areas where unknowns and seasonal affects could have significantly affected the project programme. As part of Arup’s involvement in HS1 we oversaw what was the UK’s largest ever archaeological investigation programme with numerous significant archaeological finds resulting. Some 18 listed buildings and structures were directly affected by the route including St Pancras Station itself, and several medieval timber-framed domestic properties in Kent. Several of these Grade II listed properties were successfully dismantled, relocated, and re-erected with the support of specialist restorers.

Photography © CTRL, Arup

Lamu Heritage Impact Assessment, Kenya

The government of Kenya has ambitious plans to develop a 32 berth deep water port, with associated industrial area and a new city, close to the World Heritage Site of Lamu. In response, ICOMOS, UNESCO and ICCROM sent a Reactive Monitoring Mission to Kenya to assess whether the site should be put on the ‘in danger’ list.Arup represented ICOMOS and provided expertise in port engineering and maritime Environmental Impact Assessment to assess the impact of development proposals on Lamu World Heritage Site. The mission report provided constructive proposals to accommodate the planned development while minimising the threat to the World Heritage Status of Lamu.

Photography © Government of Kenya

Crossrail Monitoring, London

Gorey Pier and St Aubins Fort Breakwater

With 42km of bored tunnels and eight new under-ground stations in the central section, Crossrail is currently Europe’s biggest construction project. The tunnelling activities had the potential to affect over 4000 buildings, of which more than 300 are listed, as well as numerous other structures and utilities above and below ground. As part of a joint venture, our team carried out extensive ground movement predictions along the alignment and used an extensive array of manual and automated monitoring to understand and mitigate the potential impact on these assets. GIS was used to coordinate information generated across multiple disciplines, including structures, geotechnics, noise and vibration and heritage.The assessment of potential damage to buildings followed a staged process from an initial screening of assets within the zone of influence of the works through to detailed analysis of those at most risk.

The sea conditions in and around Jersey are some of the most onerous in the UK. With an 11m tidal range, strong currents and strong waves from the Atlantic, the area’s piers and breakwaters are as important today as when they were built, some as far back as 1640. Arup undertook surveys to collect and visualise data on a condition of heritage marine structures in and around Jersey, including Gorey Pier and St Aubins Fort Breakwater.We used cutting-edge techniques including 3D-scanning (LiDAR) technology and surveys by small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAVs or ‘drones’) to enable better study, repair and understanding of these structures than would have been possible using conventional techniques. Arup also designed sensitive and discreet strengthening systems to extend the lives of these heritage piers.

Photography © Brian Skelley PhotographyImage © Arup

Arup has designed many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built environment. With 90 offices in 38 countries, our 11,500 planners, designers, engineers and consultants deliver innovative projects with creativity and passion.

www.arup.com

In addition to providing core building engineering services of structural, mechanical, electrical and public health engineering, Arup offers a full range of specialist services. We make use of our global skills networks to ensure we bring the latest thinking in each field to our projects, whatever their size or geographic location.

For further information please contactheritage@arup.com

Accessible environmentsAcousticsArchaeologyAudio visual technologyBREEAM consultancyBuilding performance analysisBuilding physicsCarbon accountingCommissioning & validationContaminated landDigitalEnergy survey and strategyFaçade engineeringFire engineering & life protectionFluid dynamicsGeotechnical engineeringHydrogeologyLandscape architecture

LightingLow-energy designMasterplanningMaterials technologyPedestrian modellingRetrofitSecurity consultancySeismic assessmentSustainable building designTransaction adviceTransport planningTunnel engineeringUrban designVertical transportationVibration engineeringWater conservation & reuseWind engineering

12:30-13:308 Fitzroy StreetLunchtime talk: Introduction to Cultural Heritage Week and Arup’s maritime work

Speakers: Deborah Lazarus, Clon Ulrick, Arup Steve Hold, Consultant

From 18:008 Fitzroy StreetEvening talk: Digital Technology in Heritage

Speakers: Simon Mabey, Michael Tomiak, Simon Blakeney, Damien McCloud, Arup Steve Hold, Consultant

19TH 20TH 22ND

12:30-13:3013 Fitzroy StreetLunchtime talk:Behind the Mask: conservation at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham

Speaker: Thomas Pearson, Arup

From 17:0013 Fitzroy StreetEvening talk: Cultural Heritage and Disaster Resilience

Speakers: Peter Stone, UK Committee of the Blue Shield Suzanna Joy, Andrew Lawrence, Sachin Bhoite, Arup

09:30-17:158 Fitzroy StreetICOMOS 50th Anniversary Conference

17:45-21:008 Fitzroy StreetICOMOS 50th

Anniversary EveningReception

23RD21ST

Events

From 17:0013 Fitzroy StreetKings Cross CentralSite visit to Kings Cross Central

Speakers: Morwenna Wilson, Argent LLP Deborah Lazarus, Richard Hill, Bernard Travers, Arup

08:45-12:158 Fitzroy StreetHeritage, Archaeology and Development

Speakers: Stephen Haynes, Paul Morrison, Katherine Coates, Arup

12:30-13:308 Fitzroy StreetLunchtime talk: Preserving, enhancingand building a firm’sheritage: the library in Arup

Speaker: Andrea Beddard, Arup

For more information on these events please email heritage@arup.com