Steel transfers for London student accommodation

Nearly 1,000t of structural steelwork has been installed to support a new student accommodation scheme at 61-65 Holborn Viaduct in central London.

The predominantly concrete-framed scheme has used a steel transfer structure to span a tunnel, accommodating the platforms of the disused Snow Hill Station as well as the railway lines that serve the nearby City Thameslink Station run beneath the project’s western portion in a north-south direction.

The transfer structure includes five 28m-long plate girders, positioned at ground and first floor levels. It supports the concrete-framed building above and ensures all structural loads are diverted to columns and piles that have been positioned either side of the Network Rail infrastructure.

The 2m-deep girders weigh 100t each and were fabricated and delivered to site, by steelwork contractor Severfield, in up to five transportable and erectable sections. In order to not exceed the lifting capacity of the onsite tower crane, used for the entire steel erection package, none of the girder sections weighed more than 30t.

The developer for the project is Dominus and the main contractor is McAleer & Rushe.