The cinema screens all
vary in size
NSC 15
June 18
height, while the remainder of the block is
22m-high.
“We then erected the rest of the cinema
block working in a north to south direction
before turning our attention to the long
restaurant block,” explains Caunton
Engineering Contracts Manager Adrian
Downing.
The cinema block’s steel grid pattern is
irregular as the screens are mostly different
sizes, while the ground floor features a more
open-plan layout for the leisure facilities.
Numerous plate girder transfer beams
support the first floor’s more frequent
column lines.
The two-storey restaurant and leisure
block is separated from the cinema by a
movement joint, and halfway along its
length it has a slight kink, mimicking the
adjacent lake’s shoreline.
This 14m-high building is a portal frame
formed with a series of 26m-long rafters
spliced at midpoint. The building features
a mezzanine level that accommodates
further leisure facilities within an open-plan
column-free zone.
Below, at the ground floor restaurant
level, there are two internal column lines
supporting the mezzanine floor.
“The reason the first floor has been
designed as a mezzanine is because it
allowed us to have a very shallow floor
depth, giving us the maximum possible
headroom for the leisure floor,” says Mr
Duff.
Floor-to-ceiling height is important
as the upper floor will house an indoor
trampoline facility. Vibrations exerted by
this activity have been taken into account
and the steel mezzanine has been designed
to 8Hz instead of the more usual 4Hz.
Caunton Engineering completed the
main steelwork programme in May, but will
return later this month (June) to complete
cold rolled steel stairs in the cinema.
It will also erect 5m-high canopies
alongside the restaurants, once the cladding
has been installed, and erect plant decks to
the roofs of this two-storey block.
Winvic Construction Director Danny
Nelson says: “When steelwork is going up
and buildings become more than drawings,
it is an exciting stage for any project.
“Rushden Lakes is a landmark
development in the UK, for its size and
modern take on how people will interact
in a retail and leisure space. Therefore,
we were thrilled to have been contracted
by LXB and The Crown Estate to drive
this second phase for them, following the
success of the first.
“Many challenges that come with such
a significant project have to come to the
fore, and these include the creation of
piled retaining walls by the lake, extensive
work to accommodate new traffic flow
and moving 25,000m³ of earth for flood
alleviation measures.”
Summing up, LXB Retail Principal,
Jon McCarthy adds: “Winvic’s delivery of
Phase 1 went extremely smoothly and the
company’s experience and commitment
to managing a project of this scale, with
the challenges it brings, was evident from
the start. LXB is therefore thrilled that the
partnership with Winvic is continuing on
Rushden Lakes Phase 2 and the units are
already evolving at pace.”
Leisure
The main IMAX screen
Steel erection begins
on the 120m-long
restaurant and leisure
block
/Concept_design#Floor_grids
/Leisure_buildings
/Steel_construction_products#Plate_girders
/Portal_frames
/Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Mezzanines
/Floor_vibrations
/Facades_and_interfaces#Steel_in_atria_and_canopies
/Building_envelopes
/Concept_design#Floor_grids
/Leisure_buildings
/Steel_construction_products#Plate_girders
/Portal_frames
/Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Mezzanines
/Floor_vibrations
/Facades_and_interfaces#Steel_in_atria_and_canopies
/Building_envelopes