the suspended structure was divided into
separate boxes, generally 18.1m-long and
weighing around 140t. There were 124
boxes, and the total weight of the suspended
structure steelwork is about 17,000t.
A standard box is made up of 23 stiffened
panels which were fabricated at various
workshops throughout the country. These
panels were then assembled into boxes in a
yard 3km downstream of the bridge site.
A fleet of pontoons transported the boxes
to the site, where they were raised into
position by lifting gantries straddling the
main cables.
Another Award winner from 1980s
which is still very much in use today is the
Greater Manchester Exhibition & Event
Centre.
Opened in 1986 it was subsequently
renamed as Manchester Central, in honour
of its previous use as a mainline railway
station.
A team comprising architect EGS Design,
structural engineer Brian Colquhoun &
Partners and steelwork contractor Redpath
Dorman Long completed the project.
The 1987 SSDA judges commented:
‘Central Station was one of the best
examples of our built heritage, and it has
been rescued by painstaking work in which
steel is a vital element. The new steelwork
structures around the original building are
well conceived and complementary.’
The existing Victorian railway shed
comprises 18 wrought iron arches spanning
65m with a height of 25.85m. These sit
on an undercroft of brick vaulting which
extends over an area of some seven hectares.
The primary design philosophy was
to enhance the grandeur of the existing
structure, and to carefully integrate
the complex services required for a
sophisticated building within both new and
existing structures.
As well as new steel framed parts of the
project, many new elements within the
scheme were created by reusing cast iron,
re-cast from original columns and brackets
taken from platform extensions to the side
of the building’s main hall.
A full list and description of all Award
winners can be found at: https://www.
SSDA 50th Anniversary
steelconstruction.info/SSDA_2018_-_50th_
Anniversary_Year
The 2018 Awards, which are jointly
sponsored by the BCSA and Trimble
Solutions (UK) Ltd, will be announced in
early October.
Pete Richman, Flickr
NSC 11
May 18
The Humber Bridge
has become a symbol
of British engineering
excellence
The events centre is
still in use today
The Manchester
Central project used
existing ironwork and
new steel
Opened in 1981, the
Humber Bridge was
the longest suspension
bridge in the world
Mike Peel, Wikimedia Commons
/Design
/Braced_frames
/www