Case
Westfield Stratford City
When Westfield bought a disused goods yard in a run-down area of London that was just behind Stratford railway station in 2003, no-one could have known that 9 years later both the site itself as well as the surrounding area would have undergone one of the most dramatic scenes of transformation, post WW2.
Today the Westfield Stratford City development has evolved into a huge hub that is expected not only to attract local visitors from an area that extends to Hertfordshire and Essex as part of their leisure experience, but that will also see 70% of the estimated 10 million ticket holders passing through this shopping and leisure zone on their way to the Olympic site in Stratford during July and August 2012.
Some of the figures associated with the development of this project are impressive. These include the fact that there were 25,000 people involved in the building phase, and the scheme will create a total of 18,000 permanent jobs in total. During the design and construction phase 13,500 driven and augered piles were used along with 40,000 tons of steel, 380,000 sq. m. of metal decking. 70,000 sq. m. of asphalt and membrane roof and 24,000 sq.m. of mall floor, The overall cost of the project was £1.45bn
The centre offers 1.9 million sq. ft. of retail and leisure space that includes 300 shops, 70 restaurants, a 17-screen cinema and three hotels. The site also provides a further 1.1m sq.ft. of office space. It is also the home to the UK’s largest casino and holds currently holds the title of the largest urban shopping centre in Europe.
Providing services to maintain such an enormous site is best left to the experts and Grundfos Pumps worked closely with Imtech Meica to provide the final pump solution that included a range of TP pumps. The Grundfos TP family are vertical in-line pumps that are used in a variety of applications. The pumps are single-stage, in-line centrifugal pumps with standard motors and mechanical shaft seals. These pumps are close-coupled i.e. the pump and motor are separate units. Consequently, the pumps are less sensitive to impurities in the pumped liquid than canned rotor type pumps.
Grundfos TPs are noted for their reliability and efficiency as they come complete with high efficiency IE3 motors as standard. Fitted in conjunction with Grundfos CUE range of wall mounted frequency converters with e-pump functionality that allow the speed of virtually any Grundfos pump irrespective of its size, power range or application area to be controlled – will ensure an ongoing energy efficient solution.
In addition all TP pumps are electro-coated to deliver high corrosion resistance.pumps that will ensure the supply of the chilled water as well as maintaining the low temperature and hot water requirements for the structure, which were also supplied with inertia bases and Grundfos pressurisation units. The pumps were supplied via specialist distribution partners.
There has been much talk of ‘legacy’ around the recent developments in Stratford and high aspirations for the future of the area, however the reality is that the supporting investment around the area will make the difference in getting people to see this as a ‘destination’ that they will wish to continue to visit both now and in the future; especially as there is nothing on a similar scale in the planning now or for the foreseeable future.
Add to this the fact of its positioning, with its next door neighbour being a new international station with high-speed connections both inside the UK and linking into Europe that can support many thousands of visitors looking for an all round leisure experience, virtually on their doorstep and there can be little doubt that Westfield Stratford City will be a performer to be reckoned with for many years to come.