Sandwell Aquatics Centre: A Highlight of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games

The Sandwell Aquatics Centre was seen in all its glory during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

The only new building to be developed for the Games, it centres around three state-of-the-art pools: a 50 m Olympic-sized competition pool, a 25 m dive pool and a community pool. Once the Games are complete, the venue will be reconfigured, reopening in the summer of 2023 as a community facility.

With the bulk of the work completed during the spring and summer of 2020, the site faced considerable challenges during the COVID lockdown. However, working closely with WCL, the Local Authority and our workforce and supply chain, we were able to achieve the project targets and ensure the steel superstructure was able to start on programme.

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Complex Basement Structure

The complex waterproof and water retaining basement shares many features more in common with large scale civils schemes, including intricate reinforcement detailing for the transfer channels, balance tanks and wet ducts.

Working closely with Wates Construction, Arup and our concrete supplier CEMEX, we developed a detailed pour sequence that had to be carefully poured to an accuracy of mere millimetres to comply with Olympic standards. Careful planning helped us manage concrete shrinkage and achieve a water retaining structure that met the project's specifications.

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“We were proud to have the opportunity to support the development work taking place in Birmingham as part of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Our wide range of concrete options allows us to design and produce the perfect watertight and resilient mix for the new Aquatics Centre and we were pleased to work closely with A J Morrisroe to ensure the project schedule remained on track.”

Richard Kershaw, Technical Manager for CEMEX

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Close planning was also required for the pours, with complex scheduling leading to the convergence of several specialist trades. The pours were completed at up to 400 m³ each time and took place every seven days in a chequerboard fashion to allow the concrete to fully cure.