Engineering students bring Barcelona to Norfolk

27 March 2018

Students build one of Catalonia’s most iconic monuments in East Anglia

Civil Engineering students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) travelled to Constructionarium in Norfolk to build a scaled down version of one of Barcelona’s most famous landmarks.

Based by the north Norfolk coast, Constructionarium is a training site for students to practice their skills and transfer their theoretical knowledge into practical work and designs.

The project was based on students constructing a miniature version of the Torre De Collserola tower in Barcelona, Spain. Overall, the Torre De Collserola reaches 288.4 m (946ft) including the antenna on the top of the tower. Without the antenna, the top of the pod, which has thirteen floors, reaches 152 m (499 ft).

The whole tower produced by the students was nine meters tall and was largely built using aluminium.

Civil engineering student Shahad Mahmood Mirza Al-Barakat explained how much she enjoyed the trip and how she feels that it can benefit her and her course mates.

“On the whole, I thought that the project was fantastic,” said Shahad. “Not just the project itself but the hospitality and the food they gave us were superb as well.

“My main role on site was the health and safety manager so I played quite an important role throughout the entire project. I feel like this experience was essential, especially for those who don't take a year out in industry like me, in order to apply the theoretical knowledge that we are taught in lectures to practice.

“This opportunity also enabled us to shape our perspectives of the industry, and give us a better sense of direction and purpose. I can now go into the industry aware of concepts, as well methods of communication on site."