St. Pancras International
Probably the biggest and certainly the most demanding, bird proofing job ever undertaken in the UK. The project was initially secured by senior surveyor Steve Barnes and then managed for the entire 40 month project by senior surveyor Malcolm Stowell.
Below Malcolm shares his experience........
Everything about the redevelopment and extension of St Pancras to be the permanent UK home of
Eurostar as part of the £6 billion high speed rail line project is spectacular. Centred on the
soaring 16.7 million cubic feet of William Barlow's Victorian masterpiece, the Sir Norman Foster
masterplan involved an £800 million transformation of one of London's favourite landmarks into a
new national icon. The capital's single largest modern day engineering project took more than four
years to complete to specifications as long as the combined arms of the entire thousand-plus
workforce.
Aesthetics were everything in the redevelopment as a whole and in the restoration of the Grade 1
listed Barlow Shed in particular, with all the work designed to ensure a building in keeping with
its status as one of the country's key European gateways. But the 'small matter' of pigeons could
easily have made a mess of things – quite literally. And, with the single line on pigeon
protection in the multi-volume contract specification being all but overlooked until work on the
first phase of the project was well advanced, it almost did.
“The problem of pigeons only really became evident a good way into the construction of the first
side of the 240m long extension that doubled as the interim station,” explains Malcolm. “As the
work moved progressively down the east half of the glass-walled building, the pigeons from the
surrounding area that had long enjoyed the unoccupied old Barlow Shed began to move into the newly
created space vacated by the crews. They relished all the ledges, gaps and voids so thoughtfully
created by the designers. And evidence of their occupation soon became apparent with fouling
becoming very noticeable over, down, and even within the newly constructed building.
“Immediately we arrived on site in response to the main contractor's urgent summons, we could see
the emerging new St Pancras was pigeon heaven. It offered a wide selection of highly desirable,
easily accessible, light and airy perching, loafing and nesting sites nicely protected from the
elements up to 30 metres above a variety of ready – and soon to become abundant – sources of
food.”
“The interim station roof was made up of 56 'blades' – every one an open-ended avian nesting
invitation. Encasements carrying all the services along either side of the main beams were also
open for nesting along their entire upper surface. The 23 original curved cast iron roof trusses
of the Barlow Shed provided ideal perching or nesting sites. The huge gap between the cast iron
decoration and brick walls along both sides was wonderfully welcoming for pigeons too. As were
metre upon metre of beams, dividers and architectural features throughout the entire building. “I
have to say those holding the purse strings took a lot of convincing that merely putting wires on
some of the horizontal ledges wouldn't provide sufficient protection,” he recalls. “Especially so
as initially the architect was adamant that no nets, spikes or mesh would be allowed to spoil the
appearance of his bright new creation.
“To his credit, though, trips to other nearby London stations such as Charing Cross and
discussions with railway experts following our repeated remonstrations convinced the architect
that something serious would have to be done to prevent his very best endeavours being rapidly
defaced by our feathered friends.
“To cut a very long story – and not a small amount of robust standing-up for our beliefs – short,
we eventually managed to get pigeon protection taken seriously enough to be scheduled into the
work programme from the moving aerial platform that formed the heart of the construction process.
“But this was only the beginning. At every stage we had to develop, demonstrate, improve and have
officially approved our proposed proofing solution for each element of the build. Then we had to
install it without delaying the scheduled progress of the main building platform and holding-up
the succession of builders, glaziers, electricians, painters and other trades involved.
“As well as the biggest bird job we've ever undertaken, it was an organisational nightmare; as
anyone who has any experience of working on large infrastructure projects will fully appreciate.”
Altogether, Safeguard had a team of between six and 20 installers working on St Pancras for well
over three years, moving from the interim station through the transition roof and entrance screens
and finally into the Barlow Shed itself before addressing a whole range of internal fixtures and
fittings, including the famous Champagne Bar and replica station clock.
Along with all the accompanying fittings and fixtures, they installed more than 33,000 m of
Network Birdwire, nearly 4,500 m of Avipoint spikes and a good 3000 m of weldmesh in a variety of
specially-designed, pre-formed sections.
“As a Grade 1 listed building, the Barlow Shed undoubtedly presented the greatest proofing
challenge,” Malcom Stowell continues. “It was the most important part of the entire building to
protect from damage. Yet we were heavily restricted on what could and could 'definitely not' be
used. And we weren't permitted to drill anchor points into any of the original building materials
either.
“To do so we used almost every method of access known to man, resorting to abseiling as well as
the full inventory of hoists, towers and platforms. We also had to work round-the-clock on many
occasions to fit in with both the schedule and train access requirements.
“Managing the contract working was a challenge in itself too,” he adds. “Amongst other things, we
had to set aside time for everyone to attend a whole range of health and safety, heritage and
equipment courses; hold our own in working disputes with other sub-contractors; and, at the end of
the day, ensure we both met the terms of our contract and were fairly rewarded for doing so.
Again, anyone who knows anything about contracting at this level will appreciate what a minefield
it presents in all these respects.”
The continual compromises that had to be made prevented the proofing from providing the level of
protection Malcolm Stowell would ideally have liked. However, from the start he and his team
accepted there would be no way of excluding pigeons from the building altogether. They also
accepted it would be impossible – financially as well as physically – to proof all the possible
pigeon sites. So they concentrated their resources on the most attractive nesting, roosting and
perching locations and the areas of building most vulnerable to damage or most likely to cause
problems.
Safeguard also recommended a regular programme of deterrent hawk flying, continual monitoring for
pigeon fouling and nesting, and rapid action to address any specific problems that may come to
light in the comprehensive operating and maintenance manual they provided as part of the contract.
The result is there for all to see – or rather not to see. Despite its obvious attractions for
pigeons, the new St Pancras continues to remain mercifully free from the sort of problems that
would otherwise have seriously soiled its impressive public image.
“I'm very proud of what we've achieved,” Malcolm Stowell concludes. “The station would have been
in a very different state by now if we hadn't managed to convince the powers-that-be of the
importance of a decent level of bird proofing.
“We had to rattle some cages to get things done and certainly didn't earn ourselves many
popularity points at the time for doing so. It really isn't surprising that major
clients,architects and contractors so often pay little, if any, attention to bird proofing at the
outset. After all, they're totally focused on getting the job delivered on time and in budget. To
them pigeons tend to be a minor distraction of little real importance.
“
As well as making sure pigeons continue to be unimportant at St Pancras, a key part of our
achievement has been convincing a large number of influential people in the construction world of
the need to pay more than lip service to bird proofing in their future work. And, importantly, to
take a 'bird's eye view' of their creations from drawing board to final delivery, if they really
want to realise the desired aesthetic value.
“I find it ironic in the extreme that so many developers don't want to 'spoil' the appearance of their buildings with the sort of bird protection that will actually safeguard this appearance for the future. Certainly those who worked with us at St Pancras will never take this view again. All the more so, as most of the proofing the new station enjoys is actually impossible for any but the most experienced bird control eye to spot from ground level.”
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