Carlisle academy provides educational boost for Cumbria

More than 200t of structural steelwork is being supplied and erected by Caunton Engineering for the new £26M Richard Rose Central Academy in Carlisle.

The project comprises two main wings linked by a large glazed central atrium. Working on behalf of Kier Construction, Caunton is erecting fabricated box girders, which are tapered in profile, to span the atrium.

Spanning between 19m and 26m, the girders are an architectural feature with top boom channels and plated webs connected by countersunk bolts. The web plates are tapered from 1m at the centre to 0.6m at the ends. Each beam was fabricated in two pieces with a central splice designed as a feature and also requiring countersunk bolts.

The Academy is scheduled to be completed early in 2011.