NSC 17
April 19
retail block and the new 60m × 40m market
hall.
Steelwork contractor James Killelea has
erected 3,000t of steel for the project, a total
which equates to more than 6,500 individual
pieces. The upper floors have all been formed
compositely, with steel beams supporting
metal decking and a concrete topping.
The steel erection programme began with
the leisure block, as main contractor Vinci
Construction continued with site remediation
on the remainder of the site.
The leisure block measures 95m × 55m
and has a height of 28m. The ground floor,
which will accommodate retail and restaurant
units, is a double-height space with plenty of
room for optional mezzanine levels.
A complex steel design has been utilised in
the leisure block as the ground floor column
pattern does not fit well with the upper level’s
cinema.
The retail units are typically 10m-wide
× 35m-deep clear spaces with no internal
columns. To the rear of these units there is
another column-free space accommodating
a service yard, while numerous service areas
and connecting corridors further limit the
opportunity for column positions.
“Only about 30% of the columns in this
building continue all the way up as the cinema
requires a larger and more irregular column
pattern to accommodate the 13-screens,”
says Alan Johnston Partnership Partner John
Murphy.
“Consequently, we have a series of
15m-long transfer beams, dividing the
building at first floor cinema foyer level,
that allow the upper floors to have different
column positions.”
The cinema design incorporates a central
spine of three floors to provide access and
projection levels, while storey-high trusses
have been used to transfer load to available
support positions and limit beam depths
where there is a restricted height.
The 13 screens vary in size, adding to the
steelwork’s complexity, while each one had to
be acoustically isolated.
A number of design measures were
undertaken to make sure the screens were
adequately isolated. The building is a large
braced frame, gaining its stability from
bracing located around lifts shafts and stair
cores and in the roof. The latter bracing
elements could not use hollow sections as
these members are not suitable for acoustics.
Also, in the structure’s roof the purlins had
to sit on half cleats to prevent sound travelling
between the screens at this high level, while
all of the building’s column splices have used
countersunk bolts to create a flush surface to
aid the installation of acoustic boards.
“We also formed joints in the concrete
slabs beneath the acoustic walls to prevent
sound traveling through the floors,” adds Mr
Murphy.
Once the 1,600t of steelwork for the leisure
block had been completed, the remediation
and ground works had also been concluded
and James Killelea’s erection team were able
to move across the site and begin work on the
offices, market hall and the small 61m × 18m
retail block.
The four-storey office building is a
skewed horseshoe shape in plan, with a
centrally-positioned full-height atrium. It
is approximately 72m-long and will offer
9,200m2 of floorspace.
Using braced cores for its stability, the
office has been designed for maximum
internal column-free space and features 15m
spans throughout.
All of these long spans have been formed
with Westok cellular beams that also
accommodate all of the building’s services
within their depth.
A service yard sits below one area of
the office, adjacent to the entrance of the
basement level that covers the entire footprint
of the adjacent market hall.
A 22.5m-long × 1.8m-deep plate girder
forms the column-free space and supports
four-storeys of office structure above. This one
steel member represents the largest single steel
element on the entire project.
A retained Victorian façade has been
incorporated into the design of the new
market hall, along its main Bridge Street
elevation. The façade previously belonged to
a Boots store and formerly accommodated a
plaque remembering the tragic IRA bombings
which occurred on the spot in March 1993.
The plaque has been temporarily removed by
Vinci and will be returned to its location once
the scheme is complete.
The retained façade was temporarily
supported by a scaffold system, which was
systematically released once the connected
market hall steel frame was completed.
The market hall measures 60m × 40m and
features first floor mezzanine levels around
two sides, while the central column-free
area of the structure is formed by a series of
27m-long lattice trusses.
The roof trusses also support a feature roof
light that will allow natural light to penetrate
the inner parts of the hall.
This structure is a braced frame that makes
use of Macalloy cross bracing, which will be
left exposed within the completed building as
architectural features.
Summing up, Vinci Construction Senior
Project Manager Paul Turner says: “The whole
scheme lends itself to steel construction as the
leisure block has a very complex design and
would have been difficult to build with any
other material, while the office and market
hall both have long spans, which are easier
and quicker to construct with steel.”
In conclusion, Warrington Council Head
of Development John Laverick says: “ The
use of steel gives great confidence that the
programme is going to be met, which is of
critical importance in a commercial scheme
such as this.”
Time Square is scheduled to open in early
2020.
Retail/leisure
The scheme is
centred around a
new public realm
FACT FILE
Time Square,
Warrington
Main Client:
Muse Developments
Architect:
Leach Rhodes Walker
Main contractor:
Vinci Construction
Structural engineer:
Alan Johnston
Partnership
Steelwork contractor:
James Killelea
Steel tonnage: 3,000t
The office features a
central atrium
A large plate girder
supports four storeys
above a service yard
Image: Leach Rhodes Walker
/Retail_buildings
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Design
/Leisure_buildings#Theatres_and_auditoria
/Trusses
/Braced_frames
/Concept_design#Structural_options_for_stability
/Steel_construction_products#Structural_hollow_sections
/Acoustics
/Simple_connections#Column_splices
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Concept_design#Concrete_or_steel_cores
/Steel_construction_products#Cellular_beams
/Steel_construction_products#Plate_girders
/Facades_and_interfaces#Facade_retention_in_building_renovation
/Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Mezzanines
/Braced_frames#Vertical_bracing
/Construction
/Leisure_buildings#Ease_and_speed_of_construction