Protecting a Grade II-listed façade through a £1bn rebuild

The challenge

The 1911 Whiteleys building in Queensway, London is a globally recognised cultural landmark. It is now being redeveloped from a shopping centre into 139 residences, 20 new shops, cafes and restaurants, a central public courtyard, a cinema, a gym and a flagship Six Senses hotel and spa.

All of this is set within a four-storey Grade II-listed facade, which is to be restored but needs to be protected and conserved. The site sits within a Conservation Area, and the iconic central dome, designed in 1911, will be retained. Heritage groups were firm about preserving the site's historical integrity, and local parties wanted to avoid the risk of basement construction causing subsidence to neighbouring buildings.

Laing O'Rourke's geotechnical and surveying team worked to ensure there was no unwarranted movement to the surrounding structures. They worked across several asset-protection projects at once, and needed to monitor the overall site for different movements in a smart way: to maintain structural integrity and heritage, keep a safe work site and surroundings, avoid costs from urgent unplanned works, avoid disruption to nearby buildings, and avoid wasting valuable engineering resource.

The solution

The BKWAI platform empowered Laing O'Rourke's engineers with intelligent insights from sensor and environmental data, so they could form a detailed and accurate understanding of the current condition of the facade and the surrounding buildings.

Instead of relying on manually plotted graphs from hundreds of sensors and manual survey points, engineers could access data-powered visualisations that allowed them to precisely interrogate what was happening on site. Constant monitoring showed how site activities were affecting the condition of monitored structures, so issues could be spotted before they arose, and compliance could be evidenced.

The sensor data showed how long-term, weekly and daily construction was affecting the structure, mapping movement and settlement against activities and warning thresholds. Early detection allowed early intervention, preventing serious damage and reducing the cost of unplanned emergency works. The platform visualised how the structures were changing over time, so engineers could predict how they would behave in the future.

The results

Even the slightest movement is detected quickly, long before it would be spotted otherwise, helping Laing O'Rourke protect the historic facade and the surrounding buildings.