Steelwork underway for cantilevering London Wall project

William Hare is erecting more then 8,000t of structural steelwork for two landmark office blocks that comprise the London Wall Place project.

Main contractor Brookfield Multiplex says London Wall Place will be a new destination in the City of London, offering an acre of landscaped public realm set between two landmark steel-framed buildings offering more than 46,000m² of Grade A office space.

Known as 1 and 2 London Wall Place the structures will be 12 and 16 storeys high respectively. Structurally independent they will however be linked by a weathering steel walkway that will span the centrally positioned pubic realm.

“To maximise floor space both buildings cantilever out over adjacent roads on two main elevations,” said WSP Parson Brinckerhoff Senior Technical Director Stephen Jackson.

1 London Wall Place cantilevers by up to 8m along the London Wall elevation and by up to 3.5m along Fore Street.

Deep fabricated beams up to 1.95m in depth are being erected to achieve the longest cantilevers. Other local transfers are also incorporated within the building at every floor to achieve changes in column grid as the envelope sets back floors and terraces.

“The heaviest fabricated beam we have installed is 70t and like many of these large beams it had to be lifted into place by a 160t capacity crawler crane we have on site for the early part of the steel programme,” says William Hare Project Director Alex Smale.

The 16-storey 2 London Wall Place also features cantilevers, which have again been introduced to maximise the floor area.

Along the south east corner of 2 London Wall Place the building cantilevers out over the main thoroughfare of London Wall by up to 11m, creating one of the project’s main features and something of a structural steel highlight.