Steel supports power station project

Steel contractor Adey Steel will soon begin work to fabricate and install more than 700t of façade retention steelwork at Lots Road power station in Chelsea, London.

Built in 1904 the iconic river side site has remained unused since its decommissioning in 2002. Developers will soon begin building 706 homes on the 8-acre site including two towers, one of which will be 37 storeys high.

The steelwork will comprise three core towers along the length of the interior of the building, each tower will have multiple ‘branches’ at four levels reaching out to support ring beams fixed to the interior walls.

These temporary structures will remain in place during strip out of the existing steelwork and until a replacement steel frame to suit the buildings new use is erected.

The project is said to be challenging due to the scale of the existing building and the legacy of basements and pits in the internal floor.

The 100-year old steelwork from the original build needs to be negotiated as the new supporting steel is erected; as a result crane and access equipment has been tailored to suit these limiting conditions.

Adey Steel Operations Director Ross Brown commented: “This is a landmark project for us, to be involved in one of the largest façade retention schemes in London to date is testament to our business. We have been working hard with our client studying the design solutions for the project ensuring best value and buildability and we now look forward to the project getting under way.”