Discussion with Paul McKenzie

How did the engineers influence the design? Were the engineers employed to provide the solution or they were involved in the design stage as well? The latter is not confirmed as there is no evidence the two engineering companies taking credit of any involvement. Not in their portfolio, nor in other documents.

An important aspect discussed was the design features on the 2D architect’s plans, these were not feasible to construct on the 3D shape, this then meant Paul was faced with the job of completing some in house redesign of some of the radiuses’ and alignments. He insists; “little on the job was a straight-line!” An example of the in house design is the redesigning of the spiral mound so that it both looked correct from a birds eye view and worked as a mathematical and geometric figure that fitted on the 1in3 slopes

From listening to Paul it is clear that the job was not simple in anyway, he says “the construction of the conical mounds was a challenge.” The material, as it was being placed progressively to the top of each mound would create boulders that rolled down the 1in3 gradient slopes and would then destroy the site batterails which radiated out from the centre. This required constant rechecking and engineering from both Paul and the rest of the team. 

The engineering part only talks about the details that are visible as result. Was truly the design and technical detailing about what it can be seen today or it was more comprehensive and detailed than it could be accomplished?

Paul McKenzie was first involved in the project at contract tender stage with the company CJ Pryor (contract) ltd in 2002. This required verifying the volumes that would be required to create the shapes as shown on the initial design for the park.

The initial process also involved having an appraisal meeting with Ealing Borough council to discuss how the park would be constructed between the various contractors with their bid.

Paul explains: “I was quite taken back by the initial designs because it involved the creation of four very large conical mounds on a flat landscape.” The tallest of which would be approximately 26 metres. These mounds would be the largest of their kind in Europe. After he was awarded the construction bid of the project, many tasks had to be undertaken before any construction could actually begin

Working closely alongside Ealing Borough Council Paul was able provide drawings and a clear visualisation of what the completed park would look like, in order to seek the approval of the local residents. This was done by the production of 3D DTM (digital terrain models) that could be interacted with and displayed at a residents meeting. This helped to answer the vast number of questions regarding what the park would look like, as the residents found it hard to understand the 2D drawings and contours that Paul had produced for engineering purposes

What was the public's opinion about the "contaminated rubble" sourced from different construction/demolition sites

The public had no issues with contaminated rubble from the engineers’ perspective. Perhaps that was an issue during the consultation stage but it was quickly reduced to silence once the sources of the rubble had been revealed.

This material came from various demolition and Brownfield sites, “including the old Wembley Stadium, White City and Heathrow terminal 5.”

The ecologic part was considered from the start in the sense of using the surface water for creating the 6 fishing lakes and adjacent vegetation and habitats. The issue with the ecology was that it did not envisage covering the majority of the development, which raised questions for the purpose of the project.

More to come once I receive the email from him with some reformulated questions for clarity and shorter answers. Hopefully I haven't touched the confidentiality contract that he claimed he has about the content of his work and he can deliver the information without any problems.

Note that I reformulated all the questions to strictly suit the engineering part in which he was involved.

No information related to other official bodies will be disclosed including his contractual or individual related connections. He was very clear about it. No information that is not related to his work will be given in any circumstances. For that we should contact the relevant bodies - i.e. the council for project brief, the designer for the design, etc.