1. Introduction; The proposal of this assignment is to build a new restaurant and ice cream parlour with a manager’s apartment on the Swansea seafront, near the Marriot hotel. In this assignment I aim to take the role of a junior construction professional, working for a local company tendering the work. I will give a brief description of the historical background of the site through a desktop study and information from the Swansea Archive, as well as recommendations for a detailed site investigation. Following this, I will analyse the data, providing drawings and descriptions for a suitable foundation for the building. 2. Desktop Study; A desktop study is the first step when planning and designing a building. The process of a desktop study is allowing you to collect data and information on the site without causing disruption with an intrusive survey. If a contractor is successful on the project the intrusive surveys are carried out a later date. For a pricing exercise a desktop study is the best recourse available. Desktop studies is the process where historical information is gathered to give a better understanding and insight of the land. The details we look for in a desk study are location of the site, boundaries, current and previous land ownership, potential risks and finally the present and proposed land use. We also look at the history of the site, possible conservation areas or battlefields. We also need to review geological, geomorphological and hydrogeological maps to confirm their accuracy. 3. History of the site; Following a visit to the Swansea Archive I have concluded that the area on which we are proposing to build a new ice cream parlour was a green field site up until 1852. There was very little construction taking place in the area. From 1852 onwards, the area began to develop into an industrial area, with gas works and a rail way station being constructed by 1897. Please see below map of the area during that time. Swansea (1852) Plan of Swansea and adjoining District. Sheet 12. Swansea Archive. [Print] 4. Site location; Coordinates - 51.613427,-3.945030 The site in question is located in Swansea, between the Marriot hotel and the Swansea Civic Centre. This area is very near the marina, and Swansea beach. Due to this I would assume the ground on which the ice cream parlour will be built will be loose, sandy ground. The land of which the site is located is currently home to two car parks as you can see by the below google maps photo. Due to this, the accessibility to the site would be easy through the construction and post construction phases. The agreement for this project has been made with the Marriott hotel, therefore their access could be used for our development. Although the site is located on the ground of two existing car parks, the areas between are rather uneven and full of grass and vegetation. As the area of the site has a lot of vegetation and bushes, it would be beneficial to ensure there are no roots running over or under the site. If there was, precautions would need to be taken and added in at the planning stage to ensure this does not affect the foundation type. To ensure any roots do not reach the foundation, root barriers could be fitted preventing this. 5. Site investigation; There are 4 key parts to a site investigation which are as follows 1. Desk Study, field reconnaissance 2. Soil and Rock sampling 3. If required, design of remediation strategy 4. Validation and monitoring post construction works Site investigations are carried out to ensure that the design and planning of the building and foundations are suitable for the ground you are working on, and which construction methods are used throughout the build. There are 2 main reasons why we complete site investigations, this is to identify sinkholes and possible ground subsidence. Soil investigation provides you with a certain reassurance when it comes to possible construction expenses. By conducting this type of investigation, you’ll be able to anticipate any possible problems and plan your finances accordingly. Or following investment, learn the soil is not appropriate for the design. The end result of a site investigation would give you the ability to evaluate the load-bearing capacity of the foundations, and determining any potential issues that could arise. This would also be the stage where you would establish the ground water table of the site. As the site in question is located on the coast this would be a very important part of the site investigation. Regarding the site in question the ground is a sandy, soft as it is very near the beach. After looking into the site it is clear to see that the ground is loose. Due to the location potential floods would need to be considered and investigated further. It is necessary to complete sub soil samples to ensure that the ground is suitable before any construction takes place. When building on soft, sandy ground like this project, there are two types of foundations that can be used safely. They are piled and raft foundations. As this site is located near the beach, I have researched the possibility of flooding on the site. As you can see by the below screenshot, you will be able to see that the site has a low service water flood risk. https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/maps/long-term-flood-risk/?lang=en After discovering the railway that followed the coast line down from Swansea uplands to the mumbles via our new site. I believe there could be existing electrical services in the ground. To support this I would recommend that during the site investigation, inspections pits are dug, this would confirm any services that are currently in the ground on the site. During the site investigation I believe it would be beneficial to research the planning of the nearby buildings, for instance the Marriott hotel. The Marriott hotel applied for a smoking shelter to be added onto the existing structure back in 2008, which was accepted. However, there were many constraints that had to be taken into consideration before acceptance. Below highlights the difficulties that Marriot Hotel faced when applying for an extension to the current building. Some of these constraints include contaminated ground, mining area, airport safety zones and a possible flood area. As the Marriott hotel is very near our project, all these constraints would need to be taken into consideration during the site investigation. Following research into the history of the site, with the railway, gas works, Marriott hotel all being constructed on, or near the site. We have now established that the location is a brownfield site. The gas works that was once constructed near the area, where the quadrant shopping centre and Tesco is now could still have contaminated land. Due to this, it is important that the soil samples are taken to rule out chemical, soil, or ground contamination from the previous industrial units nearby. This would need to be identified at the early stages of the site investigation, to then liaise with the environmental departments to ensure the design is compatible with the ground. Soil samples can be taken by boreholes, I would recommend boreholes to be 5-10m apart across the site. This would give you enough soil samples to make an educated decision on the foundation design. 6. Design Proposal Following the recent findings, I would recommend using raft foundations. There are two types of foundations that are suitable for loose and sandy ground, these are raft and piled. To establish which would be most suitable, the soil samples done in would determine the best option to use. As the ice cream parlour project is a low storey construction, I believe that raft foundation would be adequate support for the building. Piled foundation are a lot more expensive, and a lot more labour intensive, so I believe for the same project at hand, would not be feasible. Pile foundations can cause disturbance due to the noise and vibrations levels. As the area is such close proximity to neighbouring flats, the Marriot and the Civic Centre vibration monitoring would need to be in place to ensure no damage is caused during the piling operation. Raft foundations are used in cases where the soil is weak, which I believe to be the case on the site in question. “A raft foundation, also called a mat foundation, is essentially a continuous slab resting on the soil that extends over the entire footprint of the building, thereby supporting the building and transferring its weight to the ground.” (Understand Building Construction, 2019). Rather than trying to anchor the building, in the event of subsidence the raft is designed to absorb the movement, protecting the structure of the building sitting on top, which I believe to be ideal for our ice cream parlour. As the building is in an open area with high exposure, the materials used are critical to the life cycle of the building. I would recommend a timber framed structure, with a brick facing and glass panelling. There would be a flat roof with solar panels to maximise energy efficiency. Timber frame construction is quick to erect and a reusable materials so I believe it to be the best for our project. Glass panelling on the front of the building would give us a good view of the Swansea beach and let in a lot of natural daylight to reduce usage of lights. And finally I would clad the building with a brick facing as it is good weather resistant, and protects the building form extreme heat or cold. In addition to this, brick facings are aesthetically pleasing which would attract people to the ice cream parlour. Page 65 Foundations. Construction Technology Roy Chudley and Roger Greeno 4th edition [Print] There are many different types of building regulations, in every aspect of construction. They are put in place to ensure that people are safe working on a site, and buildings are safe in the post construction phase. Building regulations are governed by your local council, in this instance it would be ‘Swansea City Council’ for our proposed site. In addition to health and safety, building regulations also encourage a sustainable build process, protecting the environment and reducing fuel and power. It is the responsibility of the people carrying out the building work to meet the requirements of the building regulations. Examples of projects that would need building regulation approval are; • Extensions • Replacing Windows • Changing a buildings fundamental use As you can see by the three examples given, building regulations are a major part of construction. ‘Includes measures to deal with contaminated land, radon, methane, and all other site related hazardous and dangerous substances.’ (Designingbuildings.co.uk, 2019) As mentioned previously in the essay, I believe the grounds of our site could be contaminated from the old gas works that was nearby. Due to this, the building regulation for contaminated land would be significantly important on our project, to stop or minimise any pollution that could harm people or the environment. All constructed buildings need to comply with Part A building regulations. Which ensures the building is designed and constructed to be structurally safe to all masonry and timber framed buildings. This regulation covers the structural loading, buildings foundations, and material strengths. As our project is constructing an ice cream parlour with management flat, it would need to satisfy the Part A regulations, and ensuring the foundation type recommended is suitable. ‘The Approved Document M – Access to and Use of Buildings provides guidance document relating the requirements of the Building Regulations for access to and the use of buildings.’ (Designingbuildings.co.uk, 2019) As our project will be for the general public, I think this regulation would be very important to follow as there would be people entering and leaving the facility very often. As there are two car parks currently on the site this regulation would be rather easy to comply with. The regulation 7 is a regulation to ensure that the material used on all construction sites are adequate and used in a correct manner. It ensures that the materials are prepared or mixed properly to a required strength, and all materials are appropriate for the circumstances. The project in which we are constructing will need to ensure this regulation is brought to mind during the planning stage when confirming materials used.