NSC 15
July/Aug 19
points to temporary perimeter props, which
assisted in restraining an existing retaining
wall as well as providing the contractor with
valuable working space.”
The residential block is U-shaped on
plan, with the open end facing northwards.
The opening leads directly to a landscaped
courtyard, which is supported – along with
residences – by the ground floor podium deck.
The majority of the structure reaches the
maximum nine-storeys, apart from two sevenstorey
sections at the two outer tips.
Using a column grid of 8.9m × 7.5m for
the entire car park and residential zones, the
structural design uses shallow floor-to-floor
depths in conjunction with long span beams,
and uses UC sections around the perimeter, as
opposed to traditional UBs.
There is network of dropped (lower) slabs
for balconies and roof terraces within a very
tight structural zone. This results in a complex
arrangement of secondary steelwork that
required a high level of coordination between
the designers and steelwork contractor Walter
Watson.
“A steel framing solution was considered
as the most appropriate option given the
size of spans between columns and in terms
of achieving the complex perimeter details,
particularly to inset balconies due to the
material’s flexibility,” says Mr Sale.
“Steel is also quicker, needs less lead-in
time and requires fewer deliveries, which
means less impact on our neighbours,” adds
Mr Sangster.
Stability for the steel frame is provided
by a combination of traditional flat bar cross
bracing in the lower floors and moment
frames for the two upper levels.
This hybrid design was chosen in order to
assist ISG in ensuring that materials needed
by the follow-on trades could be easily
transported within the upper floors, while
maintaining full stability to the structure
during the construction stage.
By avoiding moment frames on the lower
levels, column sizes were slightly reduced
which kept the steelwork tonnage as small as
possible.
In keeping with the street’s former
industrial heritage, the completed structure
will be brick clad to match the nearby
surviving warehouses. The project is due to
complete in summer 2020.
The outer tips are
slightly lower at
seven-storeys high
Visualisation of
the completed
scheme
Manchester
residences
ISG is also constructing another residential scheme for
Brickland in the Cornbrook area of Manchester.
This £48M, 363-apartment scheme consists of two
residential towers reaching heights of 16-storeys and
19-storeys.
It comprises one and two-bedroom units, as well as duplex
and townhouse apartments.
Designed to foster strong community bonds, the
development includes a co-working space, library, gym, two
rooftop gardens and a resident’s lounge.
Steelwork contractor Walter Watson is fabricating, supplying
and erecting 1,700t of steelwork for this project.
“A steel framing solution
was considered
as the most appropriate
option given the
size of spans between
columns.”
Residential
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Podium_structures
/Concept_design#Floor_grids
/Design
/Steel_construction_products#Standard_open_sections
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Balcony_systems
/Fabrication#Handling_and_transportation
/Concept_design#Structural_options_for_stability
/Braced_frames#Vertical_bracing
/Construction
/Continuous_frames
/Fabrication