Riverside Transport Museum

james73 · Riverside Transport Museum

Riverside site set for £2.8m bridge revamp (Evening Times)

A PEDESTRIAN bridge is to be built over the River Kelvin to improve access
to Glasgow's new Riverside Museum.

At the same time, derelict land surrounding the museum site will be given
a £2.8million makeover.

Improvements will include landscaping neglected ground and installing CCTV
cameras and street lighting.

A public slipway will be built at the River Kelvin, a new stretch of the Kelvin
Walkway will be constructed and a new public square will be created in front of
the £50m museum.

The improvements planned for the area are expected to get the go-ahead when
they are put before the city council's executive committee tomorrow.

George Ryan, executive member for development and regeneration, said: "The
council's landscaping scheme for Pointhouse at Partick is really the icing
on the cake.

"It will bring all the individual developments together, providing a first-class
visitor experience which makes the most of the natural environment and river
access."

No further details are yet available of the design of the pedestrian bridge or
how much it will cost.

James H

james73

Full speed ahead at transport museum (Evening Times)

AT the moment it is just a massive building site like so many others along
the banks of the Clyde.

But within weeks, the public will see the first steelwork of an iconic world-class
building rising from the ground.

The £74million Riverside Museum, which will replace the Transport Museum
in the West End, will not open until the summer of 2011.

But 100 people are on site completing the groundwork necessary before
the stunning structure by architect Zaha Hadid can begin to take shape.

The main work started on March 3 this year and involved excavating 6000
tonnes of material - the weight of 700 double decker buses.

It has been stockpiled on site while it is tested to see if it can be used in
the project.

Jim Ward, construction manager for contractor HBG, is responsible for
ensuring one of the largest museum developments in Britain goes according
to plan.

He said: "We have created big mountains of earth on site and are doing
chemical analysis to check if the material is suitable for re-use.

"It is better for the council and the environment if the material is re-usable."

Before work started, a site inspection was carried out by a structural
engineer to establish exactly how far HBG would have to drill to find rock.

Once that was done, a carpet of stone was laid to support the drilling rigs
needed to drive a staggering 1000 piles 20 metres into the ground. They
were filled with 1200 cubic meters of concrete and will support the ground
floor slab of the new building.

Workers are now creating huge underground trenches which will conceal
all the ventilation, mechanical and electrical services needed in the
hi-tech museum.

James H

poodiecat

I am so chuffed that Zaha Hadid has won the design competition, I love her work.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/zahahadid/

james73

Transport museum plea raises £1.6m (Evening Times)

A PUBLIC appeal to raise funds for Glasgow's new Riverside Musuem has
generated £1.6million.

Trustees, including Lord Smith of Kelvin, Sir Arnold Clark, Robbie
Coltrane, Sir Tom Farmer, Sir Tom Hunter and Carol Smillie, have been
charged with raising cash to cover a £5m shortfall in the £85m project.

It is hoped the cash can be sourced from private donors, businesses and
the public to help complete the project, which will replace the transport
museum at Kelvin Hall.

Backers said they were "very satisfied" with the public response and were
confident of reaching the target.

The museum will house more than 3000 objects and is expected to attract
more than 500,000 visitors each year.

An appeal spokesman said: "We are well on our way to achieving our
goal of raising £5m towards what will undoubtedly be an iconic museum."

The steel skeleton of the Riverside Museum is being erected on the banks
of the Clyde.

A progress report, which will be presented to councillors this week, claims
a number of cost savings have been identified, including the secondary
steel work and ceiling and entrance lobbies.

Council officials insist these savings can be made while maintaining the
quality of the building. The museum was designed by acclaimed Iraqi
architect Zaha Hadid and is scheduled to open to the public in 2011.

It was originally costed at £50m, but has now been given a total "expenditure
forecast" of £85m.

James H

james73

£74m riverside Transport Museum starting to take shape (Evening Times)

THE steel skeleton of the landmark £74million Riverside Museum has begun
to rise from the ground.

Motorists passing the huge site of the new transport museum on the banks
of the Clyde can see the start of what will be an iconic new building.

But the 100 workers on the project have had to battle dreadful weather to
get it this far. The steelwork for the structure will be carried out in seven
phases and is due to be completed in May next year.

Phase one is complete, phase two is well under way and phase three has
just begun.

Jim Ward, construction manager of contractor HBG, said: "Last Tuesday,
when it rained the entire day, we were still on site until 4pm - probably
one of the only jobs in Scotland to be working.

"We were pouring concrete and erecting steel in horrendous conditions
and the guys had mud up to their knees.

"Weather like we have had this summer affects morale and slows things
down a bit but ours is a hard industry as we have to be out in all conditions.

"A lot of other jobs would stop but we have carried on."

The latest phase of the work is when the highly unusual roof takes shape.

Mr Ward said: "The roof will look like a roller coaster."

In total, the complex building designed by architect Zaha Hadid, will require
2500 tonnes of steel of which 400 tonnes is already in place.

The building is due for completion in August 2010.

James H

james73

Museum hits fast lane (Evening Times)

THE challenge to build Glasgow's new £74million transport museum is now in
the fast lane with the structure's bold shape rising from the Clyde's muddy
banks to stake its place in the city's skyline.

Almost exactly a year from when the first turf was cut at the open site, the
cladding is helping put shape on the state-of-the-art building which will be
dramatically different to the current home of the museum in the West End.

And the transformation comes as a £5million appeal for the Riverside
Museum, being built where the River Kelvin meets the Clyde on its north
bank, receives a huge cash boost.

Today three trainees from BAE Systems, met the building fund appeal
chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin and council leader Steven Purcell to hand
over £500,000 cheque.

The donation from the global defence and aerospace firm - one of two
parent companies which run the BVT Surface Fleet shipyards at Govan
and Scotstoun - is the largest single contribution to the appeal and brings
the running total to £2m.

Nigel Whitehead, BAE Systems group managing director for programmes
and support, is also chairman of the company's heritage committee.

He said: "We think our heritage is very important and the new museum is
an opportunity to celebrate it.

"With the type of business we operate it is not easy to let the public come
in and look at what we do.

"The museum is the next best thing and we hope it captures the interest
of people who are potentially interested in engineering as a career."

Mr Whitehead described the design of the new building, due for completion
in 2010, as "spectacular".

James H