Black & Veatch (UK) won the Innovation and Creativity Award for its work on the new Hong Kong University (HKU) Centennial Campus at the 2009 Hong Kong Awards for Industries.
For the project, Black & Veatch needed to make space for the new campus on a site that was already housing two existing freshwater service reservoirs of 26,500 cubic metres total capacity that supply drinking water to Hong Kong residents.
The original project scope called for the relocation of the two reservoirs on to terraces that would be created by cutting platforms into the Lung Fu Shan hillside located next to the site. This would have resulted in the destruction of some 3,000 trees covering an area of 6,000 square meters; it would also have generated significant amounts of waste.
Black & Veatch’s solution involved the first ever use of caverns for water storage in Hong Kong. The design ensured the slopes and trees all stayed intact and reduced the amount of generated waste by approximately 85 percent. In addition, the new design preserved the habitats of a number of protected species of flora and fauna along with the site’s natural beauty.
Rather than cutting platforms, Black & Veatch proposed carving a cavern out of the hill, then relocating the salt water reservoirs that were buried underground into the new cavern. The fresh water service reservoirs were then relocated into the vacated space underground.
The new design brought additional benefits as it allowed the preservation of three graded historical buildings on the site. Black & Veatch was also able to complete the project six months ahead of schedule and under budget.