Swire House Redevelopment at Chater Road, Central

This was a commercial building redevelopment project of Swire House at Chater Road, Central. The works involved piling, concreting and eventually superstructure construction.

Environmental Concern

In the heart of Hong Kong's busiest commercial Central District. The construction site was only 50 m away from the nearest Noise Sensitive Receiver, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Due to the large diameter / dimension of some of the bore piles and diaphragm walls, concreting work was required after 7 p.m. during weekdays. Noise arising from the concreting work was the major concern.

Measures Adopted

Quiet Method - A purposely-built acoustic enclosure was built to screen the operation of concrete pump and the concrete lorry mixer. The mixer is a Specified Powered Mechanical Equipment which demands a more stringent Acceptable Noise Level.

CNP - No concreting work was allowed beyond 11 p.m.

Administration - To ensure good communication, the contractor was required to submit a 48-hour-advance notification before commencement of concreting work of those identified bore piles and diaphragm walls necessitating major concrete pour.

Observations & Achievements

With the incorporation of the purpose-built acoustic enclosure, the construction noise from the subject site was reduced to a level below the relevant Acceptable Noise Level.