CEMEX has provided over 3,000m³ of concrete for the development of the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, due to be used for the diving and swimming competition in the Commonwealth Games this month.

The Sandwell Aquatic Centre is the only brand-new building for the Games, which are being held in Birmingham. The project brief for the centre was to create three state-of-the-art pools, a 50m Olympic-sized competition pool, a 25m dive pool and a community pool, along with the construction of the plant room and the perimeter ground slabs.

CEMEX provided some 3,000m3 of concrete for use in the pools’ creation, which had to be carefully poured to an accuracy of mere millimetres to comply with Olympic standards. The team worked closely with sub-contractor AJ Morrisroe to develop a detailed pour sequence to manage concrete shrinkage and achieve a water retaining structure in line with the project specification.

Due to the requirements of the project schedule, different phases of construction overlapped and at various stages digging, waterproofing, steel working, forming, and pouring may have happened at the same time. This meant close planning for the pours, which were completed at up to 400m³ each time and took place every seven days in a chequerboard approach to allow the concrete to fully cure, was vital.

Richard Kershaw, Technical Manager for CEMEX, commented: “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 AJ Morrisroe to ensure the project schedule remained on track.”

Following the Commonwealth games the Aquatics Centre will be open to the public, offering the residents of Sandwell a new state of the art leisure centre focusing on the health and wellbeing of the community.