London’s new landmark hotel

The steel frame for the Westminster Bridge Park Plaza Hotel in London is fast taking shape.

Located on the site of the old County Hall annex, the hotel forms an integral element of a larger regeneration scheme covering much of the adjacent south bank of the river Thames.

With 16-storeys containing 960 apartment style rooms and a basement housing the capital’s largest column-free ballroom, the hotel is due to open for business by 2010.

Working on behalf of main contractor Gear Construction, Cleveland Bridge is fabricating and supplying two large Vierendeel trusses from which all hotel floors, from second level to 13th level, will be hung.

The trusses are being set at an angle and will form a V-shaped central hotel atrium.

These large steel structures will be encased in concrete and are being erected with studs to accept floors and diaphragm walls. The bottom level of the trusses (level 2) will have hangers on to which the concrete first floor will be hung.

Once steelwork is complete a further three floors, constructed with concrete, will be added to the top of the structure.