Expanded win contract for UAL framework

Laing O’Rourke’s structures and geotechnical specialist business to deliver frame for new London College of Fashion

London Legacy Development Corporation(LLDC) has announced new package awards to deliver the transformative East Bank project – the new powerhouse of culture, education and innovation. The Stratford Waterfront site will see new buildings for Sadler’s Wells dance theatre, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the BBC and a new campus for the University of the Arts London (UAL’s) College of Fashion.

Laing O’Rourke’s structures and geotechnical specialist business, Expanded Ltd has been appointed to undertake the construction of the frame of the UAL building. Work has already begun on site, with the London College of Fashion coming out of the ground and being developed at pace. The £35m contract includes the in-situ concrete frame, in-situ cores, in-situ slabs/floors, steel frames, precast floors/panels, cast-in situ and pre-cast columns, transfer structures, PT slabs and beams, temporary waterproofing; and in-situ and precast concrete ramps and staircases.

Peter Lyons, Business Unit Leader from Expanded, said: “It’s a great privilege for Expanded to be given the opportunity to deliver this incredible structure. The complex nature of the scheme aligns with Expanded and Laing O'Rourke's engineering led approach, engaging our full range of capabilities including our off-site manufactured components, Select tower cranes and our directly employed staff and workforce. We’ve assembled some of our brightest and best to ensure we deliver total certainty on this project. I look forward to seeing East Bank come to life in the coming months.”

Providing comment on the overall development, Rosanna Lawes, Executive Director of Development at the LLDC, said: “We are pleased to have made so much progress on site and we are gaining real momentum in delivering this major project for London and the UK. East Bank will be a powerhouse of culture, education and innovation with world-class institutions. We want the best that industry has to offer to help maintain the high standards of construction already established on the Park.”