Projects and Features
SSDA 2024 National Finalists
Devon Place Footbridge, Newport

FACT FILE
Architect: Grimshaw Architects
Structural engineer: Cass Hayward
Main contractor: Griffiths Ltd
Client: Newport City Council
Photo: © Hufton + Crow
Connecting two sides of Newport town centre, Devon Place Footbridge comprises two distinct and contrasting parts – a pair of dark grey steel-plated structures spanning over the railway and a lightweight ramp that stitches into the surrounding context.
The two U-frame structures arc over the tracks and are distinguished by vertical stiffener plates and a wave-like profile, complementing the Victorian ironwork canopies below.
A sinuous ramp threads through each of the bridge structures, connecting street levels on either side. The 230m-long structure is unified by a continuous ribbon of bright orange flooring, which is said to give the bridge a bold and unique local identity.
Each part of the bridge’s length was delivered in different lengths, varying from 20m up to 31m, which was dictated by the location of the steel T-shaped piers that thread through the existing station canopy roof.
Allerdene Bridge, Gateshead

FACT FILE
Architect: Jacobs
Structural engineer: Jacobs
Steelwork contractor: Severfield
Main contractor: Costain
Client: National Highways
Photo: © CentralPhotography.London
Forming part of the upgraded A1 trunk road, the new Allerdene Bridge is a 12m-high, 154m-long three-span structure that spans over the East Coast Mainline railway and a gas pipeline.
During a value engineering exercise, it was decided that a three-span structure was a far more economical solution than the alternative single span option.
The chosen design reduced the amount of material required to construct the approach embankments by approximately 60,000m³, which in turn, reduced the construction programme by an estimated six months.
For the main build, the centre span girders were delivered to site and pre-assembled from six members to form a paired 90m-long section weighing over 280t.
The centre span sections were installed over a number of weekend possessions of the railway lines below. Meanwhile, the slightly longer end spans did not require any rail possession and were installed as single length girders during normal working hours.
Battersea Power Station Phase 3B, London

FACT FILE
Architect: Foster + Partners
Structural engineer: Robert Bird Group
Steelwork contractor: BHC Ltd
Main contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd
Client: Battersea Power Station Development Company
Forming the main gateway to the wider Battersea Power Station redevelopment, Phase 3B includes a 13-storey over-station office building.
Working alongside main contractor, BHC supplied, fabricated and erected 2,189t of steelwork and installed 20,219m² of metal decking.
The client wanted the project to complete as soon as possible, while also attaining the earliest start on site. To achieve these two requests, the design team developed a top-down construction plan. Once the ground floor slab, which is supported by a series of plunge columns, was completed it provided a deck that permitted the main steelwork erection programme to commence, while the basement substructure package was undertaken below.
Maggie’s Royal Free Hospital, London

FACT FILE
Architect: Studio Libeskind
Structural engineer: Expedition Engineering
Steelwork contractor: William Hare Limited
Main contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd
Client: Maggie’s
Photo: © Hufton + Crow
Known for their individual architectural form as well as the outstanding care they provide to people with cancer, the latest Maggie’s cancer support centre features a bespoke raking curved façade, signature external fins and an enclosed rooftop garden and pavilion.
Built at the Royal Free Hospital in north London, the two-storey building’s undulating form, which on plan has been likened to a fan being opened or even butterfly wings, has been formed with a steel frame.
After considering all framing solutions, steelwork was chosen by the project’s design team as the ideal material for the building’s complex shape and the requirement to have a flexible open-plan interior.
All of the project team supported the scheme in different ways, and this extended to the supply chain. Approximately two-thirds of the steelwork used on this project was donated by ArcelorMittal free of charge.
Plot 7B New Bailey, Salford

FACT FILE
Architect: Make Architects
Structural engineer: Cundall
Steelwork contractor: Billington Structures Ltd
Main contractor: Bowmer + Kirkland
Client: Muse
Forming part of the wider £650M New Bailey regeneration project, Plot 7B is an 11-storey office block featuring a unique steel-framed external diagrid.
The diagrid design was complicated by the unusual geometry and inherent in-plane stiffness that attracted lateral forces. Nodal forces at corner joints were carefully assessed to ensure adequate strength was achieved for each connection.
Achieving a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, the building provides 16,250m² of Grade A office space.
The steel frame is founded on piled foundations and gains its stability from a combination of the main centrally-positioned concrete core, the diaphragm action of the floor slabs and the stiffness of the diagrid.
With minimal internal columns, long- span cellular beams, up to 15m long, create open-plan floorplates, accommodate the building’s services within their depth and support a metal decked composite flooring solution.
Sky Studios Elstree, Borehamwood

FACT FILE
Architect: UMC Architects
Structural engineer: Fairhurst
Steelwork contractor: Severfield
Main contractor: BAM Construction
Client: Legal & General
Located on a site larger than 17 football pitches, Sky Studios Elstree includes eight stage and production buildings.
Steelwork was chosen as the framing solution because of its ability to create flexible column-free spaces with spans of up to 54m-long. Steel also falls into line with the project’s sustainability ethos, whereby all of the sourced materials are low carbon.
The buildings include six sound stages with integrated office blocks. Typical of the size, scale and design of the facility’s sound stage structures, the initial building to be erected – known as Sound Stage 1&2 – is 91m-long x 66m-wide and 18m-high.
Flexibility is at the heart of this scheme, as the sound stages can be merged together or even segregated into smaller studios as they have demountable partition walls, which allow the facility the scalability to accommodate productions of all sizes.
Tommy Taylor Memorial Bridge, Barnsley

FACT FILE
Architect: Arcadis
Structural engineer: Waterman Group
Main contractor: Keltbray
Client: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Replacing a level crossing, Tommy Taylor Memorial Bridge is a cable-stayed structure that links Barnsley town centre with the adjacent transport interchange.
The bridge incorporates a 38m-high A-frame pylon that towers over the nearby buildings, while the slender deck is supported by central cables, minimising the overall impact of the structure.
The design includes a 600mm-deep steel trapezoidal box deck, 20mm thick plates and five 68mm-diameter cables.
The efficient steel deck and pylon design was said to have reduced dead weight for the substructure elements, which was restricted during the construction phase by the adjacent rail lines and infrastructure.
The pylon was designed to be self-supporting, which reduced the need for significant temporary works, before the deck installation began.
Both sides of the bridge have 1.8m-high glass parapets as specified by Network Rail requirements. The material was also chosen as a nod to Barnsley’s glass making heritage.
- BAM Construction
- Barnsley
- Battersea
- BHC
- Billington Structures
- Bowmer & Kirkland
- bridge
- Cass Hayward
- Costain
- Cundall
- Elstee
- Expedition Engineering
- Fairhurst
- Gateshead
- Griffiths Ltd
- Healthcare
- Jacobs
- Keltbray
- London
- movie studio
- Newport
- office building
- residental
- Robert Bird Group
- Salford
- Severfield
- Sir Robert McAlpine
- Waterman Group