Mumbai T2 Airport
The client, GVK, and management contractor,
Larson and Toubro, spent two years to scour the world to be certain they had
indentified the right company to supply the GRC for the MIAL project and,
indeed, that GRC was the right material.
The design presented several challenges not only for design (from the design concept provided by the client), but also for manufacture and installation. To ensure that the right GRC supplier was in place a strenuous tender process including several technical submissions; samples; mock-ups; prototypes and design submissions were required.
Once awarded, the time available for design, manufacture, delivery and installation required a fast track solution.
Product Selection
The Architect, SOM originating from Chicago, is one of a growing breed of enlightened Architects who specify GRC as their material of choice, recognising GRC’s obvious qualities of strength, aesthetics, durability and ‘shape-ability’.
As such, the project was original specified to have white GRC panels to four distinct elements: the Ceiling Coffers, the Columns, the Column Capitals and the Bullnose.
During the tender process, however, whilst it was recognised that the required finish was to be as drawn, with white coloured panels, the procurement team, composed of members from both GVK and Larson and Toubro were prepared, and did, explore a wide variety of possible finishes to give the ‘required look.’
GRC as a material, therefore, had to stand-up to challenges from various other materials. To address the issue of other materials being used, CanBuild undertook, at its own instigation, a series of mock-ups, prototypes and technical submissions to demonstrate that GRC was, indeed, the right choice of material for the project.
This approach and the superior qualities of GRC, for the job to be undertaken, naturally persuaded the client to confirm the Architect’s specification of GRC for all these four elements.
We describe below the four distinct elements of GRC:
Ceiling Coffers
There are 2,524 No. individual ceiling panels which are typically 2.88m x 2.68m on plan.
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The ceiling coffers and the design in general, have been centred on the eye of a peacock feather, a bird synonymous with India.
The ‘eye’ in some panels is set diagonally from top left to bottom right, whilst in other panels the ‘eye’ is set diagonally from top right to bottom left.
Selected coffers have down lights positioned above a glazed lighting aperture, whilst others are solid to give a patterned ceiling of both the angle of the peacock eye and the location of the down lights.
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Columns
The columns too are, in plan, the shape of a peacock eye. There are nine columns in the GRC package, seven of which are composed of 12 panels, from Level 4 to the column capital, with two columns being composed of 52 No. panels each, from ground level to the underside of the column capital, giving a total of 188 No. column panels.
Column Capitals
These span from the top of each column and merge-in with the ceiling panels with a total of 2,376 No. panels spread over the 9 Column Capitals.
The design, manufacture and installation of the column capitals is particularly complex, as the whole column capital curves in 2 directions, with each column capital panel itself being composed of multi-directional curves to make the intricate shape required.
These three elements, columns column capital and ceilings, are mirrored to the inside of the terminal with GRG panels.
Bullnose
Circumnavigating the building is the bullnose which is composed of 5 panels in one sector from top to bottom, in 298 ‘sectors’ to give a total of 1,490 No. bullnose panels.
Three of the bullnose panels are joined together at ground level by a steel frame and steel truss solution, so that it can span between the roof members and be erected at one time, such that only three crane/winch lifts are required per sector.
Various cranes were deployed to cater for the various access constraints: one of which was a 650 tonne crane, with a 100m long jib.
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