A purpose-built cardiac theatre on stilts and a footbridge designed to be the gateway to the city of Leeds have both been shortlisted for prestigious civil engineering awards.
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has announced the MRIHCT (children’s hybrid cardiac theatre and intra-operative MRI) facility, based at Leeds General Infirmary, and Knostrop Footbridge have been shortlisted for recognition in its 2019 Yorkshire and Humber Awards.
The MRIHCT is a four storey steel framed extension to the existing Clarendon Wing, that enables cardiac surgeons and cardiologists to work together during medical procedures.
The unique intraoperative facility was contracted by DAY Architectural with civil and structural engineering design by Mott MacDonald, and built by BAM Construction. The extension was made possible thanks to generous donations of patients, families, and the public through the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund’s ‘Keeping the Beat’ campaign and Leeds Cares.
Mott MacDonald civil engineer Ben Quitman, who worked on the scheme, said: “The intraoperative facility is a four storey extension with no lower storeys extended. By only extending the fourth floor, the building has a very interesting and unusual appearance.”
The MRIHCT is one of seven projects from across the region to be shortlisted for the Centenary Award, alongside Goole sewer flooding alleviation project and Hornsea Onshore Substation.
The Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme led by Leeds City Council in partnership with the Environment Agency, aims to provide more than 3,000 homes and 500 businesses with protection against flood events from the River Aire, whilst enabling key regeneration opportunities in the South Bank area.
As part of the wider scheme, a length of island was removed to aid flood prevention. This severed the much-used Trans Pennine Trail, and the new Knostrop footbridge serves to reconnect and improve the route, whilst also providing a gateway to the city.
Daniel Bowmer and James Harrison-King, also from Mott MacDonald, who worked on the project alongside Leeds City Council, Knight Architects, BAM Nuttall, and SH Structures Ltd, said: “The bridge superstructure consists of a four span externally painted weathering steel curved soffit box girder. With a thickness of only 50mm, the piers virtually disappear when viewed end on, giving the bridge a floating appearance and creating a striking gateway to the city of Leeds.
“We are delighted that two so very different engineering projects we have been involved with have been shortlisted.”
Knostrop Footbridge is one of five projects from across the region to be shortlisted for the Smeaton Award, alongside Runswick Bay Coastal Protection Scheme and Standedge Tunnel End Aqueduct Reconstruction.
The awards are held annually to showcase the outstanding work done during the past year by civil engineers in the Yorkshire and Humber Region. They are divided into three categories; projects with a cost in excess of £5m will compete for the Centenary Award, those under £5m can apply for the Smeaton Award, and those concerned with studies and research can compete for the Sir John Fowler Award.
In 2018 the Centenary Award was won by the Skipton flood alleviation scheme and the Smeaton Award was won by the Tadcaster Bridge emergency works.
This year’s winners will be revealed at the ICE’s annual black tie gala dinner at Sheffield City Hall on March 15, sponsored by GHD.
Penny Marshall, the ICE’s regional director for Yorkshire and Humber said: “The standards of entries we have seen this year is exceptionally high and the judges now have a very difficult task ahead of them.
“There are thousands of civil engineers in Yorkshire and Humber that work tirelessly to design, improve and maintain the infrastructure that we rely on, and these awards are a great opportunity to highlight the positive impact their work has on our lives.”
