September 2023.  The construction team has worked diligently through the summer holidays.

At the exterior, the critical underground rain-water detention tank was completed in August, and construction traffic can now be diverted to the South end of the site.  This frees up the space next to the bus-bay for pile-cap construction to continue, so that Block S can join to the existing Block P.  This work will continue through to 2024 connecting to Block P at every level.

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July & August 2023.  With the start of the summer vacations for IFS, the Contractor also goes into high gear for carrying out much of the noisy works that have been pent up during the school term.  We will have made significant progress in Block S Level 1 completion of the ground floor slab, and pre-cast columns, and commencement of Level 2 post tension works.  There will be significant hacking and demolition of the old car park to make way for Block T, the new facilities block; pile caps are expected to be completed and the underground services started.  Over at Blocks U, V, W, Block W would be advancing along fastest, as of mid August, Level 1 super-structure and columns would have been completed, Blocks V following closely with water-proofing and re-bars for the L1 floor slab.  At Block U, the underground services have been laid and the ground is being prepared for the ground floor rc slab.  Within the school compound, micropiling works will start soon near the primary canteen; this area will be closed until 8 micro-piles are complete in approximately the next month.  Fire hydrant pipes and electrical cabling works would have been completed at Block J and the Bus Bay by the time school re-opens in September.

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July 2023.  This month, the progressed works are as follows – at Block S (Primary), Level 1 floor slab is completed, and the precast columns have been lifted into place.  Formwork systems are being assembled for the casting of Level 2.  At Blocks T, U, and V pile cap casting continues and are 70% completed; and underground services installations are in progress.  At Block W (Kindergarten), the underground services, and water-proofing are completed for Level 1, and the Contractor is preparing the steel reinforcements to be laid before casting Level 1 later this July.   Electrical and pipe laying works at the Bus Bay, and Blk J, have commenced, and there will be expected minor area closures for public safety as the works progress overhead.  Overall, the project has achieved 100,000 man-hours without major accidents or injuries.  We look forward to progressing the construction through the summer holidays!

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June 2023.  This June, we will see Block S Level 1 being built up.  By 3rd week of June the tower crane will be up and operating.  For safety, the crane does not overswing the school buildings; its operational radius is restricted to 43m, strictly within the construction area only.  It will lift precast concrete elements such as columns, beams, walls and floor panels to build Blocks S and T.  At Blocks T, U, V, W, pile caps and underground services continue to be constructed, as work progresses, and we can expect that towards end June, we will see the Level 1 floors for Blk W come up, followed later by Block U, Block V, then Block T.  During the summer holidays, minor M&E works will be installed in Blocks J and the Bus Bay, for services connections to the new extension.  At the open space next to the primary canteen, the contractor will commence eight micropiles for the supports of a new bridge that will connect Block L from the library walkway, to the new Block W kindergarten at Level 2.

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May 2023. This May, the last pile was sunk into the ground on 8 May 2023 (two weeks ahead of schedule). At the same time, work is rapidly progressing to excavation, and forming the pilecaps and the ground level structures. Lots of demolition and hacking going on as the old car park is demolished for Blocks S and T.

After the May School Break, the classrooms at Blk P (Level 2 and 3) will have additional noise insulation (for testing); and on successful acceptance, Levels 4 and 5 classrooms will also receive the same treatment. This should mitigate most of the construction hacking noise going into May and June.

In the second half of May, ground works for all five blocks will be in progress and we will see underground services being laid below the buildings and then the first storey structures being cast. The tower crane is also being installed, and will be operational by June.

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April 2023. This April, the construction team is preparing to cast pile caps and the first-storey structure for Blocks S and T.

The noise barriers at Block P had to be taken down to make way for Fire Fighting Platforms, and for Block S to be attached to P, at L1 and L2.

During this period, to mitigate the noise, LSC will install additional window seals, and noise barrier fabric over the windows. The noisy works will be hacking of the car-park slab, as well as cutting of piles to the design level, this will continue at Blocks S, T, U, V, W until the end of May. Noise and vibration monitoring continues 24/7, and LSC is careful not to exceed the NEA noise limit of 75dBA. So far, in room P412, the noise monitor is reading 60-70dBA, within limits.

Nevertheless, LSC is conscious to programme noisy works away from school time where they can, and the really noisy works will be done during the school breaks.

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March 2023. This March, we are pleased to have conducted our Groundbreaking Ceremony with Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (Minister for Foreign Affairs) as our Guest of Honour.Works continue to move rapidly forward on site, 90+ piles for Blocks S (Elementary) and T (Facilities) were completed at the end of February, and are now being subjected to load tests. The piling teams have moved East to pile the kindergarten blocks. In total, 62% of piling is completed.

By end of March, we can expect super-structure works to begin for Blocks S & T.

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February 2023. Since piling started after the Chinese New Year Holidays, we have completed 10% (21 of 198) piles in total. This is good progress and we hope the good weather will hold, allowing this noisy period to quickly be completed.

The noise barrier hoardings along the Hythe Road houses are almost completed, and by end-Feb-Mar, we will commence piling operations for the kindergarten blocks.

As both Piling Teams are progressing well, we continue to be vigilant about safety, noise, dust and vibration. These are an inevitable part of the construction process, but as presented during TownHall, we are proceeding with utmost care, and aim to ensure that we are in full compliance to the standards and boundaries set by the Authorities.

The Contractor has installed a full set of noise, vibration, and settlement sensors around the site, with alert levels set so that our works do not exceed the required control limits.

As always, should you have any queries / comments please contact us via the Construction PRO contact.

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January 2023. The important Test Pile has been successfully installed into the ground and is now undergoing Load Tests. By the week of 16-Jan, the tests will be completed and based on the results working piles will commence imminently.

Noise, dust, and vibrations should be expected; however, the Contractor is working diligently to ensure this is kept to a minimum in compliance with regulations and to avoid disturbing the surroundings as much as possible.

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Construction of site hoardings

Work started on erecting hoardings in mid-Dec-2022 and is expected to be fully completed by the end Jan-2023.

Two types of hoardings are being put up. The twelve-metre-tall hoardings are closest to the Hythe Road residential homes. In other areas of the school where the construction is further away, hoardings are 8m / 3.6m.

The hoardings are designed with acoustic properties to absorb construction noise and help control dust. They are also for safety purposes, keeping the work areas separated from members of the public.

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December 2022.Over three weeks have passed, and we are busy ensuring that the school area is separated safely from the Construction area and ensuring that all the children know about keeping safely away from the barriers & construction works.

The school buses are now familiarised with the new route for exiting the Bus Bay, and timing has been coordinated to ensure that priority is given to School Bus Traffic over Construction Traffic.  

The classes are running drills to familiarise themselves with the new Emergency Assembly Area arrangements at Tavistock Park.

The Contractor has been busy contacting our neighbours to inform them of the upcoming works; they are getting ready to put up construction hoardings and noise barriers to protect our neighbours’ properties; and to install the test pile.

The installation of the test pile has begun this week, there will be a small amount of noise and vibration to be expected, but all within the Authorities prescribed limits. Our Resident Engineers have been diligently carrying out equipment and safety checks, as well as signing off on all processes before the Contractor is allowed to carry out the works. Rest assured that safety is maintained on a daily basis.