There is a growing portfolio of Projects for students to undertake. Every Project has an accompanying pack which contains information for students and contractors, drawings, guides on risk assessment and guidelines on teaching assessment.
Ravenspurn Oil Platform
Ravenspurn North is a North Sea gravity oil platform off the Humber estuary. Designed by Ove Arup, it was built on Teeside at Graythorp for BP. It was the platform that established the viability of concrete gravity structures and showed a different way forward from the US approach.The student version will be a 4m2 concrete caisson with a steel scaffold superstructure and plywood platform. Students will build it in a dry dock and then float it to position in the deep lake.
Their challenge will be to handle the creation of a large structure in a short time, and one which will be judged on its ability to float and be moved to its correct position. Students will need to sink the platform to the “seabed” in order to complete their project.
East Reef Pier
This proposed 260 metre long pier at Jaywick in Essex is part of the East Reef waterfront development project. Standing on tubular steel piles the 5m wide promenade will be illuminated at night to seem like lanterns glowing out at sea. The real-life project will be the first pier built since 1957, if we do not count the Constructionarium Pier 2006.The student version will be 1.5m wide deck and three spans of 7m plus end cantilever of 4m.
Millau Cable Bridge
This 2460m long cable stay-bridge is on the A75 motorway between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers in southern France. It stands some 275m above the Tarn River and consumed 72,000m3 of concrete, containing 26,200 tonnes of reinforcing steel, and 40,600 tonnes of structural steel.
The student version will have an end span of 5m and middle span of 5m, 2 concrete piers (3.4m high) and 2 steel pylons (3m high) with deck 1.5m wide (plywood). The challenge, apart from scale, will be to launch the two halves of the deck from each side, on schedule.
Canopy Roof Naples Airport Underground Station
Richard Rogers, Expedition Engineering and Italian Engineers are developing the design for a new transport interchange at Naples Airport. The structure has 46 main radial ribs which spring from the top of the station shaft giving a canopy area of 4,600m2. It is a partial elliptical torroid reduced by engineers to a mere 18 elements without sacrifice of architectural integrity.
The students will build a canopy of 23 main radial ribs, the longest of which are 6m span. The access shaft is 4.5m diameter. Students will take the shaft down to tunnel access level and submit a method statement for opening up access to the tunnels. The challenge will be mass fabrication early in the project, whilst completing the concrete lining. This is the first timber Constructionarium project. Removal of the temporary supports will be a critical moment.
The Barcelona Tower (Torre de Collserola)
This spectacular tower was designed by Norman Foster in 1991. It is the highest point of Barcelona (588 meters) and there is a breathtaking view to the city and its hinterland.
The students will build a 9m tower of which the top 3m consists of a light aluminium fabricated spire. The main tower structure is a central hollow concrete tube with guys for stability.
Canary Wharf Underground Station
The tube station was intended from the start to be the showpiece of the Jubilee Line Extension, and its design was awarded in 1990 to Sir Norman Foster. It was constructed in a drained arm of the former dock, using a simple "cut and cover" method to excavate an enormous pit 24 metres (78 feet) deep and 265 metres (869 feet) long.
The challenge for the students is to build a precast structure underground situated in unfavourable ground.
Millennium Galleries
In 1996, PRS , with engineer Buro Happold, was appointed to design the galleries and a linked winter garden, a covered public space to be built on part of the site of a bizarrely ugly and functionally deficient 1970s extension to Sheffield’s late Victorian town hall.
The £12.7m Gallery’s finishes are exposed precast concrete. Upper levels are precast elements with permanent precast concrete formwork for in-situ concrete columns.
Kingsgate Footbridge
Kingsgate Footbridge was designed by Ove Arup in 1967 and is a great example of a ‘simple concept elegantly expressed’. It connects Durham University and the town centre across a steep gorge and had tight financial constraint - an economical, simple solution was essential.
In their scaled down version of the bridge, the students will have to ensure that the setting out of the steel supports meets very tight tolerances. The bridge consists of two precast segments that meet accurately in the centre to form a continuous structure.
Johannesburg Stadium
Johannesburg Stadium was designed by Arup in the early 1990s and was built for the International Athletics Championship. In May 2002, the management of the stadium was taken over by Ellis Park Stadium Sports (Pty) Ltd.
The stadium roof was designed as a cable net pulling against a front main cable. However, the final design lost the cable net concept in favour of a cable-stayed design. As such, this particular design has never been realised - until now.
The students have to handle some unusual materials, ensure that the weather does not adversely affect the performance of the structure and must ensure that the work is completed in accordance with a strict timetable.
Stockton on Tees Northbank Footbridge
The 180 m long bridge, designed by Expedition Engineering and Spence Associates, will provide an iconic structure forming a focal point with which the community can identify with the significant redevelopment that has been undertaken within the Tees Valley. The bridge will form part of the transformation of the 60 acre former industrial site where landowners, English Partnerships, has spent £5m on reclamation.
It will provide an integral link accessible to all pedestrians and cyclists between the mixed development of Teesdale and Northbank to become a strategic element of the footpath / cycleway network in that area.
30 St Mary Axe -The Gherkin 
This landmark 180m tall 40 storey office building in the heart of London’s financial area was developed by Swiss Re. Foster and Partners with Ove Arup as the engineer designed it. Its piles have a depth of 27m and the floor area is over 46,000m2. The skeleton is made from 10,000tonnes of steel with 760tonnes of aluminium profiles supporting 46,000m2 of glass and 34,000 m2 of aluminium sheeting.
The students will build a three storey, 12m tall version using pre fabricated steel elements and tie in on site precast floor elements. Completion of the structure will be achieved by lifting the dome into place. Stability of the overall structure has to be ensured at all times.
Brewery Wharf Footbridge
The Brewery Wharf footbridge was built in 1992 by Ove Arup and partners. It is a good example of how showcase project can help rejuvenate an area and attract more people. It was originally built to connect ‘The Calls’ of Leeds city centre to a new visitors' centre for the Tetley’s Brewery. Since then the area has had further change attracting both residential and commercial developments.
The challenge for the students is to enure accurate setting out to allow the precise construction of the structure. This has to be coupled with good programming allowing the students to place all the precast elements prior to tightening and grouting in the cables.