Longcross data centre enabling works

Client: Ark Data Centres

Ark Data Centres - Designing and operating data centres which empower businesses to work from anywhere in the world.

Location:

Chertsey, Surrey

Duration

41 weeks

Contract value

£13M

Constructed

2022

The brief:

This enabling phase of the works redevelops the existing site for future delivery of a new Data Centre and associated plant, landscaping, parking and circulation space. These works comprised of: Site strip and removal/crushing of onsite existing building slabs, construction of a new access onto the site, installation of a new piled retaining wall structure on the western site boundary and reduced level excavation. The retaining wall comprised of 283 number 900mm diameter concrete injected contiguous wall piles. The reduced level dig involved the removal of over 70k m3 of material.

Key challenges:

  • Neighbours’ buildings less than 10m away from our boundary piled wall
  • Noise sensitive filming by film studio being undertaken during our works
  • Reducing the impact of a high-volume of vehicle movements to neighbours & residents within the local community

The solution:

  • Vibration monitoring used to ensure our works didn’t impact on the building, or building users
  • Daily liaison with film studio, including re-programming of noisy operations outside sensitive filming times during the working day
  • Vehicle movements were restricted, consideration of vehicle routes, size of vehicles and numbers of vehicles at any time ensuring roads were kept clear at all times

As a trusted and key partner of Ark Data Centers, Sweet Projects go above and beyond in challenging the status quo and enabling us and our clients to push the boundaries of the possible in the delivery of our projects keeping us at the forefront of Data Centre provision in the UK.

- Andy Garvin, Director of Design, Construction & Operations, Ark Data Centres