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Client

St William

Case Study - King's Road Park - Gasworks Redevelopment

What's the Story?

King’s Road Park is a large-scale regeneration of the former Fulham gasworks site in South-West London. Having previously worked on gasholder redevelopment projects at King's Cross and Kensal Rise, Plowman Craven was able to survey the entire site and deliver a data-rich BIM model that includes several listed buildings and the iconic gasholder No.2.

The centrepiece of the development will be the restoration of the Grade II*-listed gasholder, which was constructed in 1829 and was at the time the largest in the world with a capacity of 226,000 cubic feet. Other listed buildings on the site include the former Engineering Office and Laboratory of the Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company - dating back to 1856 and 1927, respectively - as well as two War Memorials.

What did we do?

We have experience of working closely with developers, engineers, architects and project managers on a number of similarly-challenging former gasworks sites, providing highly-accurate 3D data that helps planning and design teams to successfully progress these complex schemes.

At King’s Road Park we collaborated with the client to create a bespoke solution that will enable informed decision-making throughout the development lifecycle. This included a number of complementary services and deliverables:

  • Topographical survey of entire site
  • 2D Measured Building Survey (including floor plans, elevations & sections)
  • Interactive 360 photography UAV (or drone) data capture
  • Data rich BIM model delivered in Revit
  • BIM support and consultancy
  • Structural monitoring (incl baseline establishment plus level & water level monitoring)
Pc Monitoring London Gasholder Kings Park Road 1

Structural Monitoring Solutions

Plowman Craven’s PC Monitoring division has been involved from the beginning, providing a bespoke solution for gasholder No.2 – as well as the two other listed buildings on the site - that monitors potential structural movement during piling and excavation works. The system provides an early warning to the project team to assist with risk mitigation and help protect these heritage structures.

Read the full Structural Monitoring case study for King's Road Park

Fulham Gasworks Kings Park Rd Gasholder Raised Historic V2

A Special BIM Challenge

For our BIM team, there was also a very special challenge on this particular project. We originally flew our drone over the gasholder and also laser scanned it – as per a ‘standard’ Scan to BIM job – but that only showed the visible parts of the gasholder. Given that it is to become the centrepiece of the development, the client wanted a complete picture of the gasholder, both inside and out, that would help to inform design for its restoration.

But with the gasholder no longer inflated and the base full of water, accessing the inside in order to scan it would be virtually impossible until the dewatering process is completed and the structural integrity could be safely established.

As such, the client asked us to build a model of the internals of the gasholder – but without using any scan data. So, armed with a handful of historical architectural drawings from similar structures and a couple of old photographs of gasholder No.2 we took on the challenge of recreating the structural and mechanical forms. After many hours of work we were able to find a solution.

James Gregory

This was a very interesting and unusual project to be involved with. It started out as a standard Scan to BIM deliverable, but as we built a relationship with those at St William and illustrated what is possible, the aspiration to build a detailed record model of the gasholder interior became visible.

This was easier said than done – it took a combination of specialist structural and mechanical knowledge held within our BIM Centre of Excellence and a problem-solving mindset to turn this vision into reality. We look forward to challenging our interpretation of the structure by verifying it against point cloud which we’ll capture once the gasholder has been successfully dewatered and made safe and accessible.

James Gregory, Head of BIM, Plowman Craven
Bim Fulham Gasworks Kings Road Park Gasholder 3
Bim Fulham Gasworks Kings Park Rd Gasholder Internal 2
Bim Fulham Gasworks Kings Road Park Buildings 1

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Let’s discuss your requirements

Let’s discuss your requirements and see how our expertise will deliver trusted results throughout the project lifecycle.

Plowman Craven has more than 50 years’ experience, we provide integrated measurement and consultancy services.