Raising the roof for King’s Cross shopping destination

A bespoke steel-framed roof structure has begun to be erected as part of the Coal Drops Yard shopping destination project in London’s King’s Cross.

Spanning between two retained Victorian buildings, the roof is approximately 75m-long on one side and 65m-long on the other. It curves inwards, from the south and north ends, and then rises up in the middle to a maximum height of 25m.

Working on behalf of main contractor BAM, Severfield will eventually erect 1,350t of steel for the entire project, which also includes the refurbishment of the Victorian buildings.

Two ‘ribbon’ trusses, sat atop of each building, help form the undulating shape of the roof structure. The trusses are fabricated from 610mm CHS members with 508mm CHS verticals, and bracings made from 219mm CHS sections.

To form the trusses, 20 individual components are being brought to site. They are then bolted together before being lifted into place by a 500t-capacity mobile crane.

A series of temporary trestles are being installed to support the truss segments during the erection sequence. The trestles will remain in place until the roof structure and its supporting steelwork is complete.

The steelwork programme for the Coal Drops Yard scheme is expected to be completed this August, with the retail destination opening in October 2018.

Located in the King’s Cross redevelopment scheme, the Coal Drops Yard was originally built in the 1850s for receiving and sorting coal as it arrived from the north of England by train.

Consisting of two long brick and cast iron buildings, they each originally carried four high-level railway tracks from which wagons dropped coal into storage hoppers below. Horse drawn delivery carts, positioned at ground level, would then load up with the coal.

The buildings are being converted into what has been described as a world-class retail destination. The renovated brick arches will house a collection of shops, with a focus on fashion, craft and culture.