T5 - Ahead of schedule; Schmidlin's paul lailey speaks to glass age about t5

With the east and west elevations of T5A now signed off and work on the brise soleil for the north elevation well underway, Schmidlin have exceeded the targets laid down for them on the T5 project.

The control tower is being handed over to National Air Traffic Services to be fitted out, and contractors are installing lifts, escalators and HVAC equipment in both of the terminal's main buildings.

Meticulous planning

With as many as 7000 people working on the 260-hectare site at any one time, the integration of each of the different teams involved has required logistics, planning and cooperation on an incredibly meticulous scale.

As detailed in Glass Age's coverage back in October 2005, Schmidlin curtain walled the 400m, 6 degree-angled east and west elevations of the T5A building from the outside, and the northern and southern elevations were glazed from the inside.

Even with small sections of the glazing incomplete, to allow for the installation of large equipment, sky bridges and entrances, you can't hear the air traffic from inside the T5A building. Standing inside what will be the top-floor main entrance, the enormous roof spans the entire building and will certainly leave a lasting impression on passengers.

T5B

‘Even though the T5B building represents some £15m in curtain walling', says Schmidlin's T5 Project Director Paul Lailey ‘It now doesn't seem like such a big job, as it is dwarfed in size and complexity by T5A'.

Satellite building T5B, which is around the same size as Terminal 4, has three levels of curtain walling in staggered vertical positions, all glazed in slightly different ways. By any other standards it would be a large-scale project in itself.

Schmidlin's work is now classed as ‘non-critical'. While other contractors complete internal structure and M&E work, Schmidlin will finish off the more cosmetic tasks, as and when the opportunity arises. Cleaning and finishing off will be some time yet.

BAA has introduced IIF (Injury & Incident Free) on T5; a safety programme aimed at changing behaviour in order create a safer environment. Schmidlin has taken every precaution to ensure the safety of its staff and so far, they have suffered no serious injuries on-site. The team has even won several T5 safety awards for their work on the project.

T5 is set to provide passengers with a new experience in air travel. The extensive use of glazing will allow natural light to flood the building, creating a tremendous feeling of space. A highly efficient baggage handling system is already being installed and is set to be tested and commissioned well in advance of the terminal's opening. The large amount of floor space also presents fantastic retail opportunities for BAA.

A different way of working

Paul says that even though there is a lot of work to be done on T5 (Schmidlin staff will be on-site well into 2007), he will miss the project once it has been completed. ‘This project has been so different for us. With most projects, the architects will hand curtain wallers a stack of drawings, detailing each and every stage of the project. At T5, we have worked very closely with the architects from the design phase. We have suggested ways in which we could achieve what the architect [‘Red' Mike Davies of the Richard Rogers Partnership] wanted, and through consultation, we have managed to achieve the most eye-catching and cost effective solutions'.

According to Paul, Contract Manager Andrew Turnbull and Installation Manager Mike Rothmann have been invaluable members of Schmidlin's T5 team. It is no coincidence that the date set for completion of the curtain walling was set for Andrew's birthday, 23rd December just before Christmas. BAA took the entire Schmidlin team out for a night on the town.