Cannon Street Station redevelopment on time

Redevelopment work is progressing on schedule at one of London’s busiest commuter stations.

Nearly 7,500t of structural steelwork will be erected by Watson Steel Structures at Cannon Street Station to construct a new eight-storey office building above the terminus concourse and tube station entrance.

Andrew Veness, Project Director for main contractor Laing O’Rourke said the main challenge so far has been demolishing the old 15-storey structure and then erecting the new steel frame while the station remains fully functional.

“Steel was the best solution for this project as we have complex cantilevers on two elevations, and the material offered us a lighter solution which has allowed us to bring steel to site piece-small as space is at a premium.”

The new steel-framed structure sits above the station concourse on a concrete slab supported on four large steel columns which penetrate the station below. Space constraints have dictated that the four cores are being constructed from fabricated steel plates, and these are being erected progressively along with the main frame.

Developer for the project is Hines UK working in partnership with Network Rail. The entire development, which also includes the reconfiguration of the station itself, is scheduled for June 2011 completion