The facts
Client: City of Aarhus
Location: Aarhus, Jutland,
Denmark
Services: Cost Management
Sector: Arts & Culture
Project Value: €240m
Completion: 2014
The project
Capita Symonds Cost Management team was part of the
competition winning design team led by Danish architect, Schmidt
Hammer Lassen, landscape architect Kristine Jensen and engineer,
Alectia.
The €240m Århus Inner Harbour project will establish a new
active, lively and diverse space bordering the city. It will stand
in the location of the current Pier 1 and is aimed at regenerating
the Aarhus dockside area. When finished it will house the largest
library in Scandinavia.
Thirty percent of the design competition marks were for cost
certainty so extensive cost planning and market testing with early
contractor consultation was required at the competition stage.
The latter was considered unusual by the Danish design team but
was introduced by Capita Symonds to add credibility to the costs
submitted with the design. This approach resulted in extensive
specialist contractor consultation in Denmark and approximately 75%
of costs submitted with the winning design being marked tested. The
submission scored by far the highest in relation to cost certainty
after a number of thorough interrogations by the marking panel.
Extensive land reclamation and dockside works will be required
to create a new fully automated 30,000sqm, 1,000 space underground
car park founded on 1,000 asphalt coated pre cast concrete driven
piles, above which will be built a 30,000sqm library and creative
space.
The scheme is complemented by extensive landscaping and public
realm works extending for approximately 1km to open up the dockside
side to the public. Extensive road and traffic alterations will be
required and a number of road and tram bridges will be replaced as
the Aarhus River is diverted.
Construction techniques and processes will include ground
freezing, extensive heavy sheet and diaphragm piling, pier removal,
driven pre cast piling, pre cast post tensioned walls and long span
beams. Sea water source geothermal heat pumps will provide heating
and cooling facilities to both the library and car park.
The project is funded by Realdania and The City of Aarhus and is
expected to be complete in 2014.