Portway Lifestyle Centre

Oldbury

Client:Thomas Vale Construction Sector:Health, Leisure Services:Structural Engineering Link Design Lead:Nick Hirschman, Mark Brock

Link (formerly MBCE) was appointed to provide detailed Structural (both sub and superstructure) and Civil Engineering design for the construction of the Portway Lifestyle Centre, Oldbury.

The works comprised of the demolition of the existing Leisure facilities at Newbury Lane, Oldbury and to construct a new build health and social wellbeing centre comprising Leisure Centre and Health Centre incorporating GP surgeries. The Health Centre was a collaboration of 9 GP surgeries and other specialist health providers (Asthma; COPD; Coronary heart disease; Diabetes) to become the new local Hub. The proposed leisure centre facilities included: Gym; Dance Studio; Climbing Wall; Sports Hall; Hydrotherapy Pool; 3G Football Pitches; Sensory Room; Sensory Garden and Community Café.

The ground conditions and levels were challenging with a complex site history involving coal mining and backfilled pit. The superstructure was a steel frame with a mixture of precast concrete and cast insitu composite floors. Ground floor slabs varied with some beam and block floors and some ground bearing concrete slabs. Foundations and earthworks were also mixed with a combination of ground improvement techniques being employed.

Team Member Contact

Nick Hirschman

Director

BSc (Hons) CEng MIStructE