BCSA event highlights recent steel innovations

Held at the Mermaid Conference Centre in London, the Future of Steel Construction was attended by industry experts and professionals from across the sector for an invaluable full-day event.

The programme included a keynote speech, case study sessions and lectures, addressing key topics such as the latest updates to the Eurocodes, fire safety, sustainability in steel design, and emerging practices like refurbishment, reuse and hybrid design.

Presented by the project teams, the three steel construction case studies included Giltspur Street, a landmark cut and carve scheme in the City of London, where an innovative jacking-up procedure has allowed two floors to be raised and an extra level inserted into the structure.

Also presented was The Edge, a development near London Bridge that has employed a hybrid steel, timber and concrete design, and 30 Duke Street, where 78% of the steel frame consists of reused and reclaimed steelwork.

Lectures on the Second Generation Eurocode updates were given separately by Mungo Stacy, WSP Head of Profession, Chris Hendy, AtkinsRealis Technical Director, Dr David Moore, BCSA Deputy CEO and Professor Leroy Gardner from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London.

Recognised as a hot topic in the post-Grenfell era, Professor Luke Bisby gave a lecture on structural engineering for fire, while the closing session on sustainability and design efficiency was hosted by David Brown, SCI Technical Specialist and Dr Michael Sansom, BCSA Sustainability Director.

Complementing the event, an exhibition area was attended by Cast Connex, IDEA StatiCa, Lindapter and Trimble.