international
construction
november 2014
REGIONALREPORT
24
Major challenges lie ahead
is set to be used as one of the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Its designer Peter Ayres felt the stadium would have a major
impact in terms of proving that its deliveryon time and tohigh-
specifications proved the country is capable of hosting a major
tournament.
Having previously been involvedwith creating facilities for an
Antarctic research centre, theAecom construction specialist was
well-prepared for the testing environmental conditions posed in
Russia.
He said, “It is brilliant to see the finished stadium after all the
workwe have put inover the past four or
five years. To see 45,000 people enjoying
it has been great.
“One of the biggest challenges for us
came in actuallygetting the stadiumbuilt
in terms of meeting all the regulations
that exist in Russia. This was one of the
first new stadiums to be built in Russia
and it was difficult tomeet all the criteria
thatmet our ownbest practices as well as
FIFA standards.
In terms of its technical challenges,
he explained that creating a roof for the
Spartak stadium presented quite a task
– especially when it had to be robust
enough to cope with heavy sustained
snowfall typical ofMoscowwinters.
As the designer explained, its load
bearing capacity is around five times
greater than that installed on the roof of
the Emirates stadium for Arsenal in the
EnglishPremiership.
Russian projects
In and around the Russian capital of
Moscow there are a number of other
major projects under development.
These include the strikingly-designed
€ 135 million (US$ 170 million),
53-storey Evolution Tower in the €
12 billion (US$ 15 billion) new financial district of the city -
something of a construction hot-spot. The three-year project,
which involved the use of a Potain tower crane that was started
in 2011, is due for completion by the end of 2014.
EvolutionTower’s distinctive design has been built with each
level being twisted 3-degrees in relation to the floor below,
meaning the whole buildingmoves over a course of 135°. Also
known as City Palace Tower, it will contain shops and leisure
facilities, as well as offices and public function rooms.
Elsewhere in Russia, sizeable commercial ventures are
continuing in spite of political tensions.
Among theseareSandvikConstruction’s
operations with the country’s largest
marble quarry, Koelga – which is a
major supplier to European construction
market.
The manufacturer has supplied its
C512 Prisec Horizontal Shaft Impact
(HSI) crusher, which is said to improve
productivity by up to 50% while
decreasing noise pollution.
In Yekaterinburg, customised Peri
climbing formwork has been used for
the 52-floor ISET Tower. Its luxury
apartments and accompanying health
club, fitness centre and swimming pool
were completed this summer and form
part of a rapidly-developing business
quarter of the city.
While ventures such as these and
the gradual emergence of World Cup
venues and wider infrastructure projects
offer a prospect of financial gains, until
the political dimension is resolved, the
region’s construction sector is set to
remain unpredictable as investors steer
clear of backingmajor schemes.
iC
Sandvik Construction has supplied equipment to
Russia’s largest marble quarry in Koelga.
The ISET Tower, Yekaterinburg, is part
of the city’s growing financial district.
