Sinclair Knight Merz’s 
Nick Ling tells us how he 
ensures his projects have 
efficient design with an 
architectural ‘wow’ 
factor. There is an added 
‘wow’ to this tale... Nick 
Ling is only 32, and yet 
- due to his vision - he’s 
leading many of SKM’s 
high-profile projects.

Benfica Football Club, Stadium of Light, Lisbon, Portugal.

ot too many 32-year-olds are given the opportunity to lead the implementation of the structural engineering design for high-profile projects such as the breathtaking new roof of the Main Stadium for Athens 2004, the venue for the final of the 2004 European Cup or one of the world’s largest aviaries in Malaysia. However Nick Ling, an Executive Engineer with leading consulting firm Sinclair Knight Merz is an exception.

Nick is a member of the firm best known for its award-winning work on the engineering design of Sydney’s Olympic Stadium, and now involved in the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium, (for Multiplex and as part of the Mott Consortium). Sinclair Knight Merz is also working on delivering the velodrome for the 2004 Games in Athens, along with facilities for the 2005 China Games in Nanjing.
   

Concept design drawing of the 
Main stadium, Athens 
2004 (OAKA).

He is one of the firm’s bright young talents with the maturity to deliver inspired and cost-effective design solutions under often extraordinarily challenging circumstances. Nick said the experience he has gained working alongside Sinclair Knight Merz professionals with Olympic experience had proven invaluable. 

“I don’t think there will be another opportunity to work on anything like the OAKA main stadium project in Athens again, for two reasons,” he said. 
  

“Firstly, the complexity of the engineering involved is incredible — there are simpler ways of spanning a roof over a stadium, but none that would look as spectacular as the Santiago Calatrava design. Secondly, the pressures and sensitivities required to deliver the project within the constraints of a multi-national team and the finite deadlines on a project of this scale and profile. It is no secret that the programme is challenging, but the rewards will be significant, with many hundreds of millions of people seeing it on television across the globe, along with those in the Stadium,” Nick added.

Incredible Design

A Sinclair Knight Merz team of 35 in London, Athens, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur is working with Nick on the project. Nick said the erection method of the OAKA roof was as important as the structural design. “It is a very unusual project as it is an existing stadium which is to be refurbished while the roof is being designed and erected,” he said. “I would not be overstating the case to say the method to build is perhaps more incredible than the design, with the erection and structural design completely interdependent. It will be built to the sides of the Stadium and then slid into position.”

Nick said one of the great attractions of working on the Athens project was the opportunity to work with the design genius of Santiago Calatrava and the high-profile construction project managers, AKTOR. “The tight-knit camaraderie of a team on a fast-track programme is a plus, providing me with a great insight into the workings and knowledge of construction managers AKTOR and Santiago Calatrava,” he said. “Like most European engineers, I have always been in awe of of Santiago Calatrava’s work and his ability to create opportunities that most engineers could only dream of. He has a unique architectural and structural style borne out of his artistic and sculptural experience — as well as his instinct for business opportunities and political situations. The opportunity to facilitate the construction of one of his structures, and to liaise with him and his team has been a highlight of my career.”

Sinclair Knight Merz is also working closely on the project with steelwork sub-contractors, Cimolai, which worked on Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Nick said that with a tight programme, the relationship with Cimolai had to be seamless. 

“We are designing and innovating solutions together which best fits the fast-track programme and requirements of the structure,” he said.

Fast-track Programme

Nick’s ‘baptism of fire’ to fast-track programmes on a major sporting infrastructure was for the famous Benfica Football Club’s new Stadium of Light in Lisbon. The 65,000-seat stadium will replace the club’s existing stadium on an adjacent site and features four tiers of covered seating and soaring steel arches, which will dominate the skyline in this part of Lisbon.  
  

The Stadium’s façade is enclosed in glass with four massive columns at the corners of the stadium; each adorned with an eagle — the symbol of the Benfica Football Club.

“I was relatively new to sporting infrastructure projects of that size and, being a fast-track design, we were literally designing as the Stadium was being built,” Nick said. “Looking back, I went into the Benfica project with naivety — however I wasn’t constrained by preconceptions. We tried some ideas, which were a little unusual, and they worked. We also tried to reduce complexity and keep the details simple to make the structure work for us, not against us, and the result is an extremely efficient design with an architectural ‘wow’ factor.”
  

Concept drawing showing the cable-net structure of the Taman Wawasan Aviary, Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Cross-section and interior view of the planned Taman Wawasan Aviary (66k), Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Nick said Sinclair Knight Merz had provided him with a level of freedom and trust that other firms would find difficult to provide. “I have an extreme sense of responsibility for my work and doing things properly, as well as having a desire to make complex things clear and simple to understand,” Nick said. “I have been given the opportunity to make decisions and run projects the way I want to run them and, as long as I can provide well-reasoned arguments for my decisions, the supervision is supportive rather than a dictatorial instruction from above on ‘how things are done’. At Sinclair Knight Merz if you are in charge of a project, you make the decisions, ask for help if you want it, design it and put the concepts together — with the freedom to use your abilities and advance your experience. I have also been able to draw on the experience, built up over many years, of others in the firm who have been involved in similar projects.”

Breaking Barriers

Nick said a fast-track programme broke down barriers that may otherwise exist among members of project teams. “There’s no time for fiddling about or wasting time or money,” he said. “Get on, do the job and meet the deadlines. Fast-track programmes mean you’re much more proactive and get your hands dirty in many more aspects of the design and construction process. It involves maximum flexibility and attention to detail, chasing down any oversights to make it work.”

Sinclair Knight Merz doesn’t flinch at taking on a fast-track programme, just recently committing to deliver a stadium design in three months. “Our experience means that we have an excellent grasp of the fundamentals of process and design — such as how structures like this behave, the integration of services and architecture, long span steel roofs, the loadings and the effects of earthquake — and we can come up with schemes very quickly,” Nick said.
      

“Of course every building is unique, but getting the fundamentals right as efficiently as possible, allows more time to create an aesthetically striking structure which is efficient and works. Working in that high pressure environment, whilst challenging, is also extremely rewarding.”

Apart from major stadium work, during his two years with the firm, Nick has worked on a variety of sporting and leisure infrastructure projects, including the detail design analysis for one of the world’s largest aviaries in Malaysia, along with an indoor skiing facility. “I’ve been very fortunate to have been offered the opportunity to work on such a broad cross-section of projects,” he said. 
   

The Benfica Football Club (69k), Stadium of Light, Lisbon, Portugal, under construction.

“The aviary is a cable-net structure which will form one of the largest aviaries in the world and Sinclair Knight Merz is responsible for the entire design, including the aesthetics. Normally with the structures I’ve worked on, the architect tends to define the form of the overall building and I’m used to working with them to find the most appropriate structural scheme to suit that. 

“With the Aviary, there’s a landscape architect who has provided some general criteria, but it is up to us to make it look good and, importantly, to make it work. I have a passion and instinct for architecture, its shape and form, and have enjoyed the creative elements of the design of this project immensely. 

“The beauty of the cable net structure is that it defines the architecture, and if the structure works well and efficiently, it tends to give the best aesthetic solution. It looks right because it is working properly. I love getting down into the detail because if it’s not well thought through, it can detract from the design. It’s about making the small things look good as well as the big things.”

Nick said while the challenge of the bigger jobs was seductive, it was also nice to go back to the smaller projects. “The challenge isn’t always to span vast distances, but to produce structures that are coordinated and interdependent with architectural and services requirements.” Nick is also responsible for developing and maintaining the quality procedures in the office, which are aimed at ensuring the engineering output from the London office is of the highest quality.   
   

Design of OAKA Roofs, Athens
In Athens the major Greek contracting firm, Aktor has engaged Sinclair Knight Merz, to assist in the delivery of the roof for the main stadium for Athens 2004. The existing stadium is being redesigned and upgraded by well-known Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, to be the centrepiece of the Olympic Games. It will seat 75,000 and features a spectacular new roof.

The Sinclair Knight Merz team is performing a proactive review role to deliver enhancements and solutions which will add value by saving time and money savings during the erection of the steelwork and in the final structure. The firm is also working on the development of an erection methodology appropriate to Santiago Calatrava’s design intent.

In addition, Sinclair Knight Merz is assisting with the mechanical and electrical design and cladding details as well as project management and design and coordination support. This includes implementing a project control system for the monitoring of all processes that could affect the progress of the work.

The distinctive roof design features two colossal tubular arches holding up two roofs spanning over 300m across the stadium. They support a curved roof surface comprising an even larger tie-member, which also acts as a torsion tube to support cantilevering, tapering girders. Between the arch and torsion tube are three sets of cables, the outer sets forming a curved, fanning plane that will be a strong architectural feature. The two roofs are tentatively joined at each end. The entire 12,000 tonne, 20,000m2 structure touches the ground in only four locations, at the ends of the massive spans.

Due to the short timescale in which this is to be built, and other projects to be completed on the existing stadium itself, the roof is to be constructed in two halves, set back by over 50m on either side of stadium. On completion of the steel structure, the roofs will be slid into position on Teflon pads along giant reinforced concrete rails. Once joined, the two roofs will be clad and completed. In addition, Sinclair Knight Merz has been engaged to work with Aktor on the engineering design of the roof for the 5,000-seat velodrome that is to be used for the 2004 Games in Athens. 

This involves reviewing the existing roof design and, while working within the Calatrava design concept, developing concepts for the velodrome’s structure and erection method. The preferred construction method is to erect the roofing next to the velodrome and slide it into place. Both projects are to be delivered on a fast-track programme.

Taman Wawasan Aviary, Putrajaya, Malaysia
The new Bird Park within the Taman Wawasan will contain the largest free-flight bird enclosure in Malaysia. Three large span aviaries are to be constructed over a steep valley within the park, and will follow the contours of the landscape to create a unique structure in harmony with its environment. 

The public will be able to view the birds in a natural habitat from a series of suspended walkways that will provide access both in the tree canopies and at lower levels through the undergrowth. The principal structural elements that support the mesh will be a cable-net formed of stainless steel wire-ropes, that will be tensioned between tall steel masts and anchorage points on the ground and surrounding structures. The tensioned cables will provide a stiff but shaped structure to which sheets of pre-stressed wire mesh will be fixed using a purpose-designed fixing system. 

Stadium of Light, Lisbon, Portugal
Client: Benfica Football Club
Sinclair Knight Merz has been engaged to carry out the engineering design (all services) of the proposed Stadium of Light for the famous Benfica Football Club in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. The new 65,000-seat stadium will replace the Club’s existing stadium on an adjacent site.

The aim is to keep Benfica’s existing venue fully operational until the new stadium, which is scheduled for completion in 2003, is ready, so it can host the final of Euro 2004. European soccer’s ruling body, UEFA, has agreed that the Stadium of Light will host the final, based on satisfactory progress with its design and construction.

Sinclair Knight Merz is working on the Project with leading architect, HOK Sport + Venue + Event, and Quantity Surveyors, Northcroft.

The Stadium of Light project will feature four tiers of seating covered by a thin roof plane. This roof is supported by soaring steel arches that will dominate the skyline of the surrounding city. The Stadium’s façade will be enclosed in glass with four massive columns supporting the roof at the corners of the stadium; each adorned with an eagle — the symbol of the Benfica Football Club. 

Retail space and restaurants will be visible from the outside, while an optical illusion will be formed that will make the roof appear to hover at night when illuminated.

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