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P R O J E C T
P R O F I L E
97.313 Published by the British Cement Association on behalf of
First published 1990 the industry sponsors of the Reinforced Concrete Council.
ISBN 0 7210 1388 0 British Cement Association
Wexham Springs, Slough 5L3 6PL
Price Group C Telephone Fulmer (0753) 662727
© British Cement Association 1990 Fax (0753)660399 Telex 848352

All advice or information from the British Cement Association is intended for those who will evaluate the significance and limitation of its contents and take responsibility
for its use and application. No liability (including that for negligence) for any loss resulting from such advice or information is accepted. Readers should note that all BCA
publications are subject to revision from time to time and should therefore ensure that they are in possession of the latest version.
 S.T. Lillie C.T. Bryant HTC
S. Waring M.E Southcott
DipArch, RIBA BSc, MBA, MICE

FOREWORD
This publication was commissioned by the
Reinforced Concrete Council, which was
set up to promote better knowledge and
understanding of reinforced concrete design
and building technology.
Its members are Co-Steel Sheerness plc
and Allied Steel and Wire, representing the
major suppliers of reinforcing steel in the
UK, and the British Cement Association,
representing the major manufacturers of
Portland Cement in the UK.
Steve Lillie is Construction Manager
for Byrne Brothers (Formwork) Ltd, the
concrete frame contractor for The
Harlequin, Watford
Cliff Bryant is Senior Executive for
Bovis Construction Limited, and was
Project Director for construction on all
phases of The Harlequin.
Simon Waring is Associate Partner
with Chapman Taylor and Partners and was
the Architect for the project.
Martin Southcott is Project Manager
for the Reinforced Concrete Council.

CONTENTS
■ THE PROJECT 2
■ BUILDING General 3
SPECIFICATION Frame and foundations 3
Cladding and finishes 4
Services 4
Building management system 4
■ DESIGN General 4
Architecture 5
Frame 6
Services 7
Building management system 8
■ CONSTRUCTION General 8
Substructure 8
Superstructure 9
Cladding and finishes 10
■ CAPITALIZING ON
CONCRETE 11
■ APPENDIX Project details 12

1
P R O J E C T P R O F I L E

THE PROJECT
The Harlequin in Watford was designed to increase and
improve prime shopping facilities in this well-established
regional shopping town north of London. Developed on
a ten-acre site in the town centre, the scheme is the
largest and most significant development in Watford for
generations. At the time of building, it was the largest in-
town retailing scheme under construction in the UK.
By connecting into existing buildings, the
development includes six key anchor stores, another 150
shop units of various sizes, a food court, and ample
parking spaces linking directly into the malls.
It also takes full advantage of the nearby junction
between the Ml and the M25. A new motorway link
road will connect this with the town’s inner ring road,
which forms a boundary to the site.
Among the physical and timing problems faced by
the development team were:
• a tight programme of phased completions, including
an early handover of building shells for fitting out
• the relocation of an existing major department store in
a new building on the site, with no loss of trading
• the complex geometry and sloping malls necessary to
fit the development into an urban site
• overall height and construction depth restrictions
• the incorporation often existing listed buildings
• providing adaptability during construction to meet
future tenants’ needs.

Concrete frames used throughout the project

These problems were overcome by using contignous

concrete piles for the basement perimeter and in-situ
reinforced concrete for the superstructure. None of the
other options considered, which included steel, could
meet the design and cost constraints, nor the required
flexibility and rate of construction.
The Harlequin was constructed in five phases. The
first three phases opened during 1990 and 1991 ahead of
programme, and are trading well. The remaining two
phases opened on programme in June 1992.
A total of 135 000 m3 of concrete was used, with a
peak placement rate of 1800 m3 per week.

2
P R O J E C T P R O F I L E

BUILDING SPECIFICATION
General
With the dramatic increase in the number of shopping
centres over recent years, the public has come to expect
ever higher standards. They will not be disappointed with
The Harlequin, as a glance at its principal features will
show:
• a total of 150 retail units, each between 500 and
15 000 sq ft, on two principal trading levels and
providing over 700000 sq ft of retail space
• a major 200 000 sq ft anchor store, Trewins (part of
the John Lewis Partnership), on four trading levels
• full integration with the existing Marks & Spencer,
Littlewoods and British Home Stores, and with the
existing Charter Place shopping centre
One of the shopping malls
• over 2000 car parking spaces, on up to five levels
above the malls, with three separate access ramps
• four feature lifts, five standard lifts, and numerous
escalators connecting malls and car parks
• retail units serviced from a basement that incorporates
a lorry access route about 1 kin long, seven unloading
docks, and goods lifts servicing the rear access of nearly
all units
• seven major glazed atria over the malls and shops
• a food court, with seven kiosks, catering for 450
• environmentally-controlled malls with high quality
finishes
• ten listed buildings, some dating back to the 16th
century, restored and incorporated into the The basement
servicing of
development retail units
• public toilets, telephones, and child-minding and
baby-changing facilities.

The atrium in Trewins

Frame and foundations

The frame is mostly in-situ reinforced concrete, with
precast concrete floor soffit slabs acting compositely for Lifts and escalators
later car park phases. Beam and slab construction was connect upper and
lower malls and give
chosen for malls and for retail units, and flat slab for the dirct access from
Trewins store. Reinforced concrete transfer beams and car parks

3
 slabs cater for changes in the column grid at basement
level. The structure is supported by both bored and
continuous-flight auger (CFA) piles founded in chalk.
The floors are designed for imposed loadings ranging
from 4.5 to 6.0 kN/m2.

Cladding and finishes

Exterior cladding is traditional, using stock brick with
reconstructed stone copings and trims. These were
chosen and detailed so that interior finishing could
progress behind an independent inner blockwork leaf.
In the malls, plain and patterned terrazzo floors,
glazed metal balustrades, fibrous plaster bulkheads and
ceilings, and painted concrete columns provide a simple
foil to the retailers’ own decors.
Fairfaced concrete is used extensively in the car
parking areas, with painted soffits carrying light into the
aisles and coloured metal grilles over openings.

External materials are mostly traditional Services

Partial air conditioning, regulated by internal and external
sensors, creates a pleasant environment in the malls, with
a design temperature of 23°C in summer and 16 C in
winter.
The retail units are provided with all normal services,
including sprinklers, fire alarms, condenser water and an
intercom system. Goods lifts connect the separate rear or
side accesses of the units with one of the seven basement
unloading docks.
A high design priority was to provide daylight to the
malls from the atria, supplemented by computer-
controlled lighting to suit the season and time of day.
Customers can circulate freely using a mixture of
escalators, and standard and feature lifts, which link malls,
The terrazo floor adjacent stores, and car parks.
has bright patterned
borders
Building management system
Comprehensive building management systems, incor-
porating closed-circuit TV, fire alarm, public address
system and car park barrier controls, are housed in the
basement control centre. There is a duplicate monitor
located in the Management Suite, allowing 24 hour
surveillance all year round.

General
Urban shopping centres present their designers with a
very special set of problems. Complex patterns of land
ownership, conflicting architectural requirements, and
subtle commercial pressures from a variety of sources,
Daylight has been
introduced to the malls
including those retailers connecting with the site, all have
wherever practical to be reconciled.

4
Architecture
The site is bound on one long side by the inner ring road,
and on the opposite side by the partly pedestrianized
High Street, containing existing major retailers. It is also
crossed by a pedestrianized shopping street. The northern
end of the site connects with Charter Place, which has
been refurbished by the local authority.
Extended pedestrian routes, linking Charter Place
with High Street along two new mall levels, integrate
The Harlequin with existing shops. From its entrance on
High Street, the main mall slopes gently upwards to link
with the first floors of the existing High Street anchor
stores, and with Charter Place. The lower mall connects
the ground floors of Charter Place and the High Street
stores, and leads into The Harlequin’s food court.
Many shoppers will arrive by car, and three separate
car parks provide direct access from the ring road to five
levels of parking above the two shopping levels. Each car
park has one primary point from where lifts, stairs and
escalators give direct access into the malls. Despite the
difficult site, particular care was taken to create bright and
cheerful car parking, with clear spans where possible. In
the last two phases, precast plank units were used to form
voided slabs, with a smooth soffit for painting. The site is contained within the ring road and the High Street

Bright and spacious carparking is a feature of the scheme

A strong attraction of the scheme is the variety and

interest in the malls, which have been designed as five
separate but related spaces.
The plan changes direction from space to space, and
there is always something new and unseen around the
UPPER MALL
corner. Simple ceilings in some areas contrast with
vaulted glazing alongside the five-level car parks, and the
gently sloping floors mirror the slopes of the street
outside. Natural daylight and sunshine are brought deep
into the malls through the high-level rooflighting and
atrium glazing, and intense pools of artificial light
eliminate dark comers. Softer artificial lighting takes over
on winter afternoons and evenings.
While the terrazzo floor has bright patterned
borders, finishes in the malls are generally clean and
simple, leaving retailers and their customers to provide
bright colours and images. A typical section showing basement, shopping malls and parking
 The outer wall is Introducing a large new development into a
interrupted so that
Trewins is visible traditional town poses many problems of scale and access.
from the outside The scheme has two faces - an outside face onto the ring
road, with access by car and viewed mainly from a
distance or from passing vehicles, and an inside face
viewed in detail by the pedestrian shopper.
The outside wall, with shop service areas and car
parking above, forms a physical barrier along the ring
road. The wall is interrupted to allow Trewins and other
major retailers to be visible from outside. On the inside,
the building scale is reduced to two storeys of shopping
within the malls. A group of existing grade II listed
buildings on High Street has been renovated and
refurbished, and integrated into the scheme.
External materials are mostly traditional, to suit the
preferences of both the Planning Authority and the
client. Walls are built of stock bricks - several types are
used across the scheme - with reconstructed stone tims
and copings. The car parks are enclosed in brickwork,
relieved by coloured metal grilles that give a distinctive
pattern to the building, and the extensive atrium roofs are
clad in green anti-sun glass to reduce glare.

Frame

Finishes are clean and simple allowing

In-situ reinforced concrete was chosen as the most
retailers to provide colour and interest appropriate material for the structural frame, being
preferable to steelwork for a number of reasons.
Headroom in the shop units was not generally critical,
because the beams run along the lines of dividing walls.
However, height restrictions in both the basement
roadway and the upper-level car park areas called for a
shallower overall floor depth than concrete slab and steel
beam construction could provide. Overall height restric-
tions made concrete flat slab construction the ideal choice
for the four trading levels of the Trewins store. The
unsymmetrical and non-repetitive geometry of the
buildings, and the need for adaptability during construc-
tion to meet eventual tenants’ requirements, also favoured
in-situ reinforced concrete. Once consideration had been
given to the implications of the ‘fast-track’ programme, in
which the design and construction stages were to follow
each other extremely closely, the decision to use concrete
was no longer in doubt, because the lead-in times for
structural steelwork would have been unacceptable.
The lower mall or ground floor, constructed as a
beam and slab, acts as a vast transition zone between the
different column layouts of the wide traffic ways below
and the shops and mall above. Structural steel would have
required deeper sections, resulting in more excavation
and increased retaining wall costs.
This floor contains nominal additional amounts of
reinforcement to provide both for temporary access for
unloading heavy goods vehicles, and for the early removal
of basement propping. This allowed work in the base-
Lower mall showing ment to proceed simultaneously with that on the upper
typical column layout levels.

6
 Simply by altering the amount of concrete cover to Construction proceeded simultaneously
on several levels
the reinforcement, the fire resistance requirements of four
hours in the basement and two hours in the mall areas
were immediately satisfied. No additional fire-cladding or
spraying was necessary, as would have been the case with
a steelwork frame. This allowed other work in the
basement to continue without hindrance or risk of
damage to any fire protection.
Much use was made of screw-threaded
reinforcement couplers for bar sizes up to 40 mm across
temporary structural interfaces. This enabled construction
joints, even those through heavily reinforced beam
sections, to be made cleanly across construction phase
boundaries.
Connections between in-situ walls and adjacent slabs
and staircases were generally made using reinforcement
continuity strips cast into the walls. These allowed Car park constructed
unimpeded formwork to be used for vertical components using the trough slab system
so that they could progress independently of horizontal
elements. Reinforcement hidden in the continuity strips
was bent out to form starter bars after the formwork was
struck. Continuity strips were also used around the peri-
meter of temporary openings, such as those for materials
access shafts and tower cranes. The resulting unobstructed
openings were straightforward to fill in after use.
In early phases, clear-span parking was achieved
using reinforced concrete cast onto a trough slab system
between downstand beams spanning 15 m. In phases four
and five, the trough slab was changed to a voided slab,
formed by precast concrete planks with integral void
formers. These planks act as permanent formwork,
presenting a cleaner soffit and speeding construction.
In areas adjacent to the existing BHS and M&S
stores, expensive propping of the perimeter contiguous Later phases used precast concrete planks
pile wall was avoided by using ‘top-down’ construction. with polystyrene void formers

The lower mall slab was cast first and acted as a diaphragm
restraint during excavation and construction of the
basement.

Services The precast planks resulted in

a cleaner soffit and faster construction
Services provided include mall supply and extract systems,
smoke extract, air handling units (AHUs), sprinklers, 7800
ventilation risers, hose reels, and an advanced fire alarm
system linked to the local fire brigade.
The distribution needs of management and tenants
are met by the single-level basement serviced by nineteen In-situ RC beam Temporary propping
21-person goods lifts. Customers are provided with four
high-speed glass-clad scenic lifts and five enclosed lifts, In-situ concrete, Mesh reinforcement, Lattice reinforcement,

along with escalators to serve the lower and upper mall

shopping areas, and car parks.
Seven 11 kW sub-stations within the centre feed a
network of five main switchrooms and numerous
electrical risers. Major plant installations are situated at ~---~““~---~+ Precast unit

basement and roof levels. These house two chilled-plant/ 1 1200 )i

pump rooms, AHU units and motor control centres. Voided slab construction
 Retail units are provided with connections for all
normal services, including sprinklers, fire alarm and
condenser water, but not gas. Services are routed in the
false ceilings of the malls and in the service corridors at
the back of tenants’ units.

Building management system

A central control room in the basement uses sophisticated
systems to control building management functions, plant
monitoring, programming and maintenance, and the six
The basement car park barriers. Duplicate monitoring is provided in the
control centre
centre’s Management Suite.
Closed-circuit TV security for all internal and
external areas is transmitted by radio signal. A fire alarm
system is linked to life-saving and support systems, core
pressurization (to protect escape routes from smoke),
general plant and the public address system.

General
The phasing of the scheme was dictated by the need to
relocate the Trewins store within the site without loss of
trade. Furthermore, the start date depended on the out-
come of a compulsory purchase enquiry that delayed
detailed design. Consequently, phases one to three were
fast-track, with design information issued in stages just
ahead of construction. By phases four and five, design had
pulled ahead and construction became truly fast-build.
Recognizing the risks of such a complex project, the
Curved profiles were easily achieved in concrete
client chose the Management Contracting route.
A number of construction features were adopted to
improve buildability, many as a result of feedback to the
design team from both the frame and management
contractors. These included changes to restrictive
specification clauses, such as those covering pour sizes,
mix design, striking times and surface finishes.
Safety and QA Schemes were introduced by the
management contractor to ensure that standards were
maintained despite the fast pace of construction.
The frame contractor maintained uninterrupted
winter working by electing to provide heated concrete,
tenting, heated work areas, and insulation to fresh
concrete, and by monitoring air and concrete
temperatures during placing.

Substructure
The basement walls were formed by contiguous bored
piles, designed to be propped at the top by the lower mall
(ground floor) slab. However, in most areas the basement
was excavated before the slab was constructed, so a
variety of methods was used to cater for this temporary
condition, including:
 additional pile reinforcement
temporary support, using propping and anchor blocks,
or cross-bracing
‘top-down’ basement construction, including
methods devised by the frame contractor
ground anchors.
In one case all four methods were used within an
area of only approximately 5000 m2.
The piles were constructed by either conventional
rotary boring or CFA rigs. Both these techniques were
relatively quiet and vibration free, especially the CFA,
which was used to particular advantage directly adjacent
to existing buildings that were to be retained.
The soil survey showed six metres of claybound
hoggin lying over chalk of variable quality, with typical
collapsed ‘solution features’,. formed by the passage of CFA piling was employed where The varying ground conditions
noise and vibration were critical required an adaptable piling strategy
groundwater in the chalk, in several parts of the site.
Reinforced concrete bored piles were particularly
appropriate here, as they were relatively easy to adapt
A range of support systems and
to the ground conditions revealed by ‘Frugo’ testing at construction techniques was used
each location. throughout the contract
For speed, the lower mall slab was constructed
directly after the basement pile caps. This removed the
underground drainage and basement slab from the critical
path and allowed them to be installed later under shelter.
Piles were generally in economical groups of three, so that
no bracing was required during top-down construction.

Superstructure
Most of the structural frame was in-situ reinforced
concrete. The frame contractor used a variety of support
systems and construction techniques, and a materials
strategy designed to meet the short lead times and fast
programme. At the peak some 3000 m2 of formwork
were prepared per week.
In the Trewins area, flat slabs were used to minimize
construction depths, thus providing the necessary head-
room over four trading levels and two operation floors.
Elsewhere, with two trading levels, the relatively A single concrete mix, suitable
high storey heights of the malls, and an irregular structure, for pumping, was used widely
a beam and slab system was found most suitable. on the project

In general, a single 40 N/mm2 concrete mix,

suitable for pumping, was used to reduce striking times
and simplify the ordering and supply of materials.
However, for special circumstances the contractor
elected to use:
l a 60 N/mm2 mix when falsework was to be struck in
48 hours
l a superplasticized 40 N/mm2 mix with 10 mm
aggregate in the heavily reinforced transfer slab
l lightweight concrete for the mass fills forming the
mall slopes.
The heavily reinforced
A statistical analysis of cube strengths and transfer slab required
temperatures was used to justify early formwork striking a superplasticized mix
without the need for specific cube results. with 10mm of aggregate

9
 Two resident mobile pumps and one static pump -
occasionally relocated - placed all horizontal concrete,
whilst vertically elements were served by skip from tower
cranes.
Exterior scaffolding was avoided by extending the
soffit forms beyond the building line, with special hand-
rail and toeboard brackets attached. In addition, bolt-on
cantilever bracket assemblies were used to ‘leap-frog’ up
the concrete exterior elevations. This led to considerable
time and cost savings and increased worker safety. The
frame contractor was regularly among the leaders of the
project’s safety league.
The falsework had to provide access, not only for
retail traffic routes that had to be kept open during
construction, but also for the extensive construction
traffic serving the different construction phases. Measures
Access routes had to be taken included the use of proprietary bridge units and
kept open throughout
the contract
phased construction with early formwork striking.
The complex phasing of the works was satisfied by
the extensive use of reinforcement couplers and
continuity strips. These also allowed the complicated core
construction to advance in shell form ahead of floor slabs,
stairs and dividing walls in the lift shafts, thus taking these
elements off the critical path and enabling floor cycle
times to be considerably reduced.
Other ‘buildability’ changes, designed to speed up
construction and increase cost effectiveness, included:
providing additional reinforcement in certain
locations, to obviate the need for backpropping where
early access was required
re-detailing wall and column reinforcement to suit
construction sequences, geared to a reduced
alternative programme
approving larger concrete pours and standardizing slab
finishes.
All standard staircases were precast, ensuring high
A high standard of fairface work quality and safe, early access for following trades.
allowed direct decoration of carparks
A particularly high standard of finish was demanded
in many areas where direct decoration of the concrete
U Crane layout was specified, to reduce the need for wet trades and to
speed internal finishing. Extensive fairface work included
car parks, access ramps and external parapets.

Cladding and finishes

Some three million bricks were laid in the external walls.
These were designed to be self-supporting from their
base and were constructed full height, with only wall ties
connecting them to the structural frame. Thus internal
blockwork could proceed independently of the cladding,
providing a sheltered environment for finishes and
services. This design also avoided the problems usually
associated with nibs or bolted-on support angles.
The steel atria rooflights were supported at high
Internal blockwork
proceeded independently
level off the concrete frame. Access for construction
of the brick outer skin was provided by temporary., weatherproof decking,

10
allowing finishes to proceed at the same time as the Excavation in progress-
October 1988
roof construction.
Throughout the project, construction was made
easier by realistic tolerances and finishes, set to suit the
particular situation, ranging from direct finishes and
fairface concrete, to less critical concrete hidden by
finishes supported on adjustable brackets.

This brief examination shows The Harlequin to have

been a large and complex project with a number of
challenging design and construction requirements, such as
fast-track, fast-build, and critical phasing. Yet throughout Frame for Phase 1 completed,
Phase 2 in progress -
the project, careful teamwork fully exploited the June 1989
advantages of concrete to minimize the impact of any
problems. By specifying reinforced concrete as the main
structural material, the development team ensured:
Flexibility of
l form to suit a complex site geometry tying-in with
existing structures
l structural type, materials and construction methods to
accommodate difficult phasing and access
Phase 5.
l details to suit a design evolving and adapting to the Frame nearing completion -
needs of architects, tenants and services September 1991, and . . .
l piling to cater for unpredictable ground conditions.
Fast-track and fast-build capability with
l minimal lead times allowing a fast start, and
construction to follow close behind design
l simple, reliable methods to remove cores and walls
from the critical path
l direct finishes and inherent fire proofing to speed
following trades.
Buildability through
l close liaison between designers and the management
and frame contractors, ensuring early feedback
l the frame contractor electing to use additional
materials and more expensive methods, resulting in
quicker construction and additional safety
l the willingness of the designers to alter restrictive
specification clauses to speed the work without
compromising quality.
Low construction depth
l in car park ramps, Trewins’ four trading floors and the
massive ground floor transfer structure above the
basement. This minimized excavation and height of
structure, and maximized space.
Inherent fire resistance
a easily achieving up to a four hour rating in a robust
and immediate form.
By making full use of these advantages, it is not
surprising that all phases -of the development were
The final phases of
constructed on, or ahead of programme, within budget The Harlequin were formally
and with a quality exceeding all expectations. opened on 16 June 1992
 A P P E N D I X

Co-developers Capital & Counties

Sun Alliance Group Properties
Watford Borough Council
Management contractor Bovis Construction Limited
Architect Chapman Taylor Partners
Structural engineer Clarke Nicholls & Marcel
Services engineer How Engineering Services
(Midland)
Frame and substructure Byrne Brothers (Formwork)
contractor Limited
Quantity surveyor Cyril Sweet and Partners

The phases are shown on page 2

Gross floor area 184 000 m*

Car park area 70 500 m*
Net lettable area 80 000 m2
Maximum number of storeys 6

12
 £/m2 % Start September 1988
Piling 23.92 3.8 Finish Tune 1992
Substructure 55.76 8.7
Duration - phased over 45 months
Frame 180.48 28.2
M&E 141.91 22.3
Cladding and roofing 78.88 12.3
Finishes 83.48 13.1
External works 10.21 1.6
Sundries 62.66 9.8
TOTALS 637.30 100.0

0 Roof-top parking 0 Shopping malls cl Stores and shops

High-level glazing Trewins Lorry access road Loading docks, storage, plant rooms, workshop

13
PROJECT PROFILE: THE HARLEQUIN, WATFORD
CI/SfB I

S.T. Lillie, CT. Bryant, S. Waring and M.F. Southcott

UDC
693.95:725.26
BRITISH CEMENT ASSOCIATION PUBLICATION ‘97.328

con@rete