Fabrication completed for second mini-Gherkin

Steelwork contractor Caunton Engineering has completed work on its second miniature version of London’s Swiss Re (Gherkin) building for the Constructionarium.

The Constructionarium is a not-for-profit organisation providing an innovative and ‘hands-on’ construction experience for students and professionals in the built environment sector.

Since 2003 over 12,000 delegates have attended Constructionarium to work in teams over six days to build one of their carefully designed projects. Each project is a scaled down replica of an iconic structure which mirrors the challenges of life on site and enables students to apply the knowledge they have gained in a practical and safe environment.

Caunton Engineering initially supplied a 12m-high mini-Gherkin in 2007 for the Constructionarium at Bircham Newton in Norfolk. A second similar structure has now been delivered to a new site in Southall, London.

According to Caunton Engineering, the aim for the new mini-Gherkin was to reduce the fabrication time and increase repetition, and also make it safer and quicker for site operatives to erect.

The steel frame for this new structure has been designed without a positive fixing to the ground slab. Instead, it is erected off a ground beam, which allows the structure to be more easily moved between different locations.