Knightsbridge Palace (Bulgari) Hotel
Knightsbridge, London
The Knightsbridge Palace Hotel, (now Bulgari Hotel) on the site of the former Normandie Hotel in the heart of Knightsbridge provides 6 floors of deluxe hotel suites, and 4 floors of private apartments.
There are 6 basement levels, including dining, ballroom, office, 2 floors of gym & pool and plant room.
In Feb 2010 the £9M sub & superstructure contract by Prime Development Limited and managed by Sir Robert McAlpine, started in April 2010 as piling works were completed.
Byrne Bros. spent the months prior to commencement utilizing the tender 3D model to plan the works in detail.
The site layout and location presented the Project Team with major challenges.
The site footprint was only 1100m2, with one access to the main road for vehicle lay-by and one very limited access to the rear (reduced hours).
Therefore space is at a premium as there were at least 3 or 4 work fronts at anyone time. The 3D model proved a valuable tool to plan the works at a daily level. The structural constraints had to be understood in detail as WSP had, under direction from PDL, value engineered where ever possible the design prior to Byrne Bros. finalizing the construction sequence. The concurrent top-down construction meant that the early superstructure floors were built in phases to allow excavation to proceed in parallel and with due consideration through temporary and permanent works design improvements to de-risk the programme to allow overlaps in activities. Byrne Bros. slip formed the main core and used precast columns and stairs where possible and within the capability of the limited craneage.
