Mace Group

A visionary achievement

Only a few Mace projects have had such a significant effect on the urban landscape of central London as the iconic BA London Eye, constructed in celebration of the millennium and now one of the city's premier tourist attractions.

Mace was construction and project manager on the iconic BA London Eye. The 135m diameter ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames was built to a demanding and inflexible programme deadline.

What was most significant about the London Eye project was the high degree of innovation applied to the planning, design and assembly of the structure. Priorities included construction health and safety, the use of off-site manufacturing methods to minimise the impact on the area surrounding the site and alignment with the client's marketing and publicity aims.

The project comprised the wheel structure, thirty-two passenger capsules, the boarding platform, associated river works and the landscaping of the adjacent Jubilee Gardens.

Mace coordinated the many work packages involved in the £75m project and developed a unique and innovative assembly solution that created considerable savings in programme time and cost. Amongst these was the use of off-site manufacturing for the passenger capsules which were designed and fabricated in France, then transported by road to the site. The 1,200 tonne wheel was assembled on barges in the Thames before being winched into its vertical position during a 17-hour, two-stage lift.

This was very much a one-off project. Many of the techniques had not been attempted before and the technology was therefore unproven. Flexibility, and an ability to re-engineer as construction progressed were essential. Mace's construction and engineering expertise was called upon to grasp the challenges of the project in great detail - without losing sight of the strategic objectives and the immovable deadline set by the millennium.

The London Eye has won more than 75 awards since its first ‘flight' and remains a symbol of Mace's commitment to innovation on high profile projects.

Photo Gallery

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Links

Client: London Eye
http://www.londoneye.com/

Wikpedia: London Eye
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Eye

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