Turner & Townsend alinea are delighted to have been part of the team that brought The O2 permanent canopy replacement project to Practical Completion last month.
We first started working on the scheme when Storm Eunice ripped open 6 bays of the existing canopy in February 2022. Five months later in July 2022, we successfully completed the temporary works project with Deconstruct.
The permanent replacement works were effectively negotiated with Taiyo Europe GmbH, an international canopy specialist who worked on The Hajj Terminal – the largest membrane structure in the world, and the US Embassy in London.
The works involved replacing 8 bays of the canopy (10,126m2), this included the 6 affected, as well as one bay either side, and updating details around the entire circumference of the O2 to prevent this occurring again.
The Contract was awarded in November 2022, with the works starting in April 2023 in an attempt to minimise stoppages onsite due to drastic weather conditions.
There were a number of challenges throughout the project, including:
- Limited existing design information
- Working in a live store environment (directly above Outlet Shopping at The O2)
- Unpredictable English weather when removing sections of the canopy
However, with a great team behind it, the project successfully overcame these challenges with a specialist contractor, collaborative working and regular weather tracking.
Congratulations to our client, the Waterfront Limited Partnership, Buro Happold, Dexter Engineering Consultancy and Taiyo Europe GmbH on a great project!
