Singapore library chooses Corus steel

Corus has supplied structural steel for the prestigious new Singapore National Library, which is due to open in June.

The library, designed by architect TR Hamzah & Young, is claimed to be the most advanced ever built. It is 16 storeys high, boasts an observation pod on the roof, and includes three basement levels and walkway bridges connecting the upper levels.

Corus, as the sole supplier of structural steel, provided a package of structural sections and plates totalling more that 4,500t.

The material was supplied from Corus’s plate mills in Dalzell and Scunthorpe, the beam mill at Teesside and the hollow section mill at Corby. Corus achieved an overall fabrication wastage of 8%, considerably better than the 12% that is typical for a building of such complexity.

Bernard Chung, Technical Manager of Corus International Asia, says: “Corus International’s precise organisational structure and local support network allowed the project to run successfully through to completion. The local network of offices was able to source urgent requirements from stock within the region.”

Buro Happold was consultant, including structural design, for client National Library Board. Maunsell Consultants (Singapore) was civil and structural consultant for the design and build project team, which was headed by main contractor Nishimatsu-Lum Chang.