Architectural Technolgist – Snowdon’s new £8.4 million visitor centre

Its been some time since I last went to the top of Snowdon, I used to climg there in my youth, recently I went back and went to the top as a passenger on the famous rack and pinion railway. but it could not go to the top due to the cafe that is there being replaced. This short review is about the logistical nightmare of building on top of Snowdow in all weathers.

When Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, openedSnowdon’s new £8.4 million visitor centre last week it marked the end of what Ian Mercer describes as “logistically the most difficult job I have ever undertaken.” Ian is managing director of Prestwich based stone masonry and stone cladding specialists Stone Specialists Stone Central (NW) ltd, a member of Stone Federation Great Britain.
His company’s role in the project, on behalf of contractor Carillion, was to install the 150 sections of granite bullnose which edge the roof and 370 square metres of granite cladding. The centre, which replaced a 1935 building, has been designed to blend in with the landscape and cope with extreme weather.
“The job itself was straightforward enough but because is was Britain’s highest building site – 1,085 metres up on the summit – and constantly hit by bad weather, it was logistically very difficult,” Ian explained. At the summit winds can reach 150 mph, the annual rainfall is more than 5m and the temperature can be as low as minus 20 degrees centigrade.
Ian had a team of eight men working on the project, and men and materials had to be transported to site on Snowdon’s 113-year-old rack and pinion mountain railway, with a special flat-bed trailer being built to carry the materials.  “If all was well my men set out at 7am and reached the top an hour later. But regularly they would get two thirds of the way up and have to wait for a couple of hours because the wind was too strong for them to go higher until it calmed down. A total of 72 working days were lost on this project simply because of bad weather”
Stone Central began work in July 2007 and then had to leave the site in November as winter closed in. They resumed in May 2008 and had completed their part of the scheme by August.

“Everyone is really pleased with our work and it’s great to know that the centre will now be used by up to half a million visitors to one of Britain’s most famous beauty spots,” said Ian.

Jane Buxey, Chief Executive of Stone Federation Great Britain commented: “Once again a member of the federation has demonstrated the skill, expertise and sheer determination needed to overcome the most difficult of tasks. We congratulate Ian and all his team on a job well done.”

So wheres the CPD, just about everywere, from high speed wind on a design to building so high away from main delivery routes, to safe working at this altitues and conditions. I think there is plenty to go at.

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