BA’s Technical Building Block A (TBA) and adjacent Technical Building Block C (TBC) at its East Maintenance Base will be remodelled to become the new training campus, with 16 aircraft simulators.
ISG will strip out the building and install a two-storey mezzanine structure running the full length of the 300m hall to service the flight simulators.
Two of the world’s most sophisticated flight training simulators are already housed within TBA for pilot training on the new A380 Airbus and B787 Dreamliner. The new simulators will remain operational throughout the duration of the project. Following the completion of ISG’s project, British Airways will move a further 14 simulators from its nearby Cranebank Training facility to create the new centre of excellence.
ISG’s planning also has to take into account the proximity of four large aircraft maintenance hangars either side of the main simulator hall, which will be in continuous use during the project.
The 10-storey TBC building will be stripped back to shell and core, reconfiguring and fitting out the floors to Cat B specification. Working across floors one, nine and ten, the contractor will deliver approximately 200,000 sq. ft. of new office and training accommodation.
One floor of the building will be occupied by British Airways at all times during the refurbishment, which sees the replacement of existing mechanical and electrical services and the installation of a new barrel-shaped skylight at first floor level. The fit out includes the creation of an auditorium, as well as a restaurant and a full range of offices, meeting rooms, training facilities and learning resources across the three floors. The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2014.
Paul Cossell, managing director of ISG Fit Out, said: “Securing such a high profile project with British Airways reflects our outstanding credentials delivering complex and strategically important facilities for international clients. This dedicated campus is set to become one of the world’s leading flight training facilities for the global aviation industry and I’m delighted that ISG will play such a prominent role in its creation.”
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