Kier has successfully craned the new £3m Cultural Centre into position on Southend Pier. The 350sq m building, which was designed by White Arkitekter in partnership with London-based architects Sprunt, was constructed by Kier off-site at Tilbury Docks in Essex.

It was lowered onto a barge at the docks on 16 May and then transported along the Thames before mooring off the pier head overnight in readiness for the lift. The 170 tonne structure was hoisted onto the pier head at high tide using a 400-tonne marine sheer leg crane.

Kier will now clad the Cultural Centre with an external ‘skin’ before it is fitted out ahead of a grand opening this summer. The Cultural Centre is the first structure to be added to the pier head since 2000 when a new lifeboat station was constructed.

White and Sprunt worked with structural engineers Price & Myers from the outset to overcome the technical challenges presented by the site.

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Kier was tasked with the challenge of managing the 'Big Lift'.

After being suspended above its foundations the building was gently lowered at a rate of just 2mm a minute to mitigate impact damage to the 100-year-old cast iron piles that support the pier.

Once completed the centre will be capable of seating 185 people and house a 40sq m artists' studio, café with outdoor terrace and ancillary accommodation including WCs, store and kitchen. It will host a programme of indoor and outdoor cultural activities, bringing new cultural life to the promenade and reclaiming the pier as the town's main attraction.

Southend on Sea Borough Council's executive councillor for Culture & Tourism, Derek Jarvis, said: "I am thrilled to bits that the Cultural Centre lift went so well. It was a really delicate operation and so much was at stake, particularly as we had never been involved in anything like this before. We were concerned about the weather initially but the conditions stayed mild and the whole lift went like clockwork.

"I'd like to thank all our partners - Kier, Price & Myers, White Arkitekter, Sprunt, Cyril Sweett and GPS Marine for their endeavours. It was a text book exercise. The professionalism and expertise shown by all the partners from the design competition through to the off-site construction and finally the lift was first class.

"I can't wait until the centre is finished as it will prove a massive asset to Southend's residents and visitors for decades to come."

(PM)