Report - Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London - April 2015

[Cuuvin]

think pool is under that pile of crap in the middle

2 rollups , 4 columns at end match. low roof, just drapes. floor of pool raises up flush with floor

 

[The_Raw]

Sheeeit you're right mate, well spotted. Didn't think it could be in that part, wonder if the 'nightclub' I found was actually the inside of the pool. When I said it was a nightclub I wasn't basing that on anything other than an assumption. It was a large open space with black walls that would've been about right for a nightclub or something :

 

[The_Raw]

This is a pic from inside there, I didn't have a clue what it was at the time, still not sure but I guess it could be the pool....?

 

[Cuuvin]

mmm . . . unless they fixed (and supported) those movable concrete sections, looks like there'd be a sh*t load of hydraulics still under there. Could be just a small section for the room, but wouldn't be able to use the pool any more. (sealing those doors ... also read they used the pool when they held boat shows there. Don't think they'd screw with that for a dinky night club. probably only way in is if one section was lowered (as in pic) or jack hammer through the concrete ! ya think there'd be a small hatch in the "pool floor" section for access when slabs up & pumped dry. probably covered up with debris (maybe under that pile o' crap!)

 

[The_Raw]

Another shot taken in there.... Perhaps they removed the hydraulics and covered it over for the purpose of moving demolition machinery around up top?

 

[upright_ninja]

Epic stuff there, mate... cracking set of shots and the sheer scale of the place is brilliant. Good work...!

u>.<n

 

[upright_ninja]

Epic stuff there, mate... it's a colossal site and the pictures certainly do it justice. Well played...

u>.<n

 

[Cuuvin]

here's some blow ups of the "now" photos ...

think red lines are near edge of slabs ... circled area looks like a floor penetration ( got guard rails around it) for extracting pool operating equipment

 

[Cuuvin]

.. Perhaps they removed the hydraulics and covered it over for the purpose of moving demolition machinery around up top?

Firstly,TR (i may call ya that? ) hope you don't think I'm trying to say you're wrong or dis' ya. You do good work! & the work i do is putting sh*t up & knocking sh*t down, so just offering my take on things as seen through these blood-shot orbs of mine ! If i was demoing this site the pool proper is one of the last things to go. Those pool slabs were designed to hold whatever they wanted to exhibit in there. couple thousand people, craft fair, auto shows, truck shows , farm equipment shows. maybe even ... construction equipment shows! Basically why spend $$$ to first design a support structure, install it (it's already there) , spend more money,time, manpower to disassemble each cylinder, cart it up to the surface, then finish off the empty space to just tear it down again? I could be wrong, have been , will be, i'm human (yeah,beneath all this hair and beard .. it's me! ) what i'd do is leave the slab, cut a hole in the concrete to get any salvageable equipment out (electric motors, control cabinets, pumps, ...). then when the roof comes off & the walls come down, section the slabs (maybe even leave the cylinders attached), crane them out to an area to separate the metal from the concrete (like dropping a wrecking ball on it! ) . demo is do it the easiest, fastest , cheapest (hopefully, the safest) way you can , including blowing that M/Fer up !!!! (ooooo yeah! : ) maybe some of the riggers that have posted hear can give us some insight, we maybe both out in left field !

p.s. if ya go back, stick your head in that hole ! (wait, that didn't sound right, ... you know what i mean!!!)

 

[The_Raw]

To be fair @Cuuvin you sound like you know your onions so I'm not going to argue with you! However, I'm done with that place so will let someone else stick their head in the hole :

 

[Ojay]

I stuck my head down that hole and don't recall seeing any gubbins, I didn't actually venture down either so again it's still a mystery, the hydraulics have prob been removed during the previous stages of demo

However, all told they could still be in there

 

[steveekay]

damn impressive, i didn't know that place was closed, i remember working at ticketmaster they used to sell tickets for there a lot. shame.

 

[Cuuvin]

I stuck my head down that hole and don't recall seeing any gubbins, I didn't actually venture down either so again it's still a mystery, the hydraulics have prob been removed during the previous stages of demo

However, all told they could still be in there

True that. Actually what I meant to say is that the pool /floor slab hydraulic cylinders would probably be in place. Yes, all the rest of the hydraulic systems could be salvaged / reused & probably would be the first things to go.

 

[PCWOX]

fucking A1 this. Didn't even realise it had closed down!! Been there many times in the past

 

[thenortherncorrespondent]

I wrote a university project on Earls court and Royal Albert Hall (many years ago now). I got a tour from the tech manager at each venue. I was shown the pool area - It was a major selling point of the hall for the boat show that they could actually have boats floating in the hall. So it was still used at least once a year. We walked past and I was shown the substantial submarine-like metal doors that sealed the water in. They weren't large in area, just substantial in construction - thick steel, rivets round the edge, big wheel to turn to lock it in place etc. It was holding millions of gallons of water so there was no big access hatch (or none that I was shown). The big access hatch was the floor! It was essentially a big steel tank.
I was told that the pool had to be drained over the course of a day or two, and London underground were always informed. As there were two tracks passing close underneath the building, if they just opened the drains and let the water out then it would flood the underground! it had to be a controlled flow so as not to overwhelm the drains.

I was also told that one of the reasons for the roof space above hall 1 being so high was that when it was built, mechanical engineering of the time dictated that the weight of the roof and the support they demanded from it necessitated a very steep angle - modern engineering would have allowed a similar strength construction with a shallower angle. We weren't allowed on the roof gantries as due to unfortunate accidents of people falling from the gantry, strict codes were now in place. Later in my entertainment industry days I was led to believe that the track record of personal safety for riggers had not been great in there. Though it was exciting to do a show in there, I always had in my mind that it was a dangerous place for fatalities (maybe some of the rigging boys will know better than me).
The rabbit warrens underneath were impressive though. I forget some of the details now, but there were tunnels that could link to both underground stations, and (as seen in the photos) various routes for driving vehicles about underneath the hall. Again, it's hazy now, but I believe the construction of earls court 2 closed some of these (1930's era) tunnels. The design was very forward thinking for its day though.

It was quite impressive that they built EC2 over a working underground line and train depot... Now they're going to redevelop, I'm intrigued to see how they will fit the line in to the development. Just cover it over and pretend it's not there? Move Lillie Bridge depot? They wouldn't want to miss out on land for houses I'm sure.