NSC
October 19
A 12-year programme to extend
and refurbish the Battersea
Arts Centre includes a new
steel-framed roof spanning
the facility’s Grand Hall and replacing
a structure that was destroyed in a
conflagration that blighted the scheme four
years ago.
‘The main structural challenge was
designing a new roof structure to fit the
spatial and structural constraints of the
existing brick walls that survived the fire,”
explains Haworth Tompkins Associate
Martin Lydon.
“It also had to respect the building’s
heritage while providing additional load
capacity for new theatre equipment,
technical systems and the enhanced roof
envelope.”
Heyne Tillett Steel Project Engineer
Ella Warren adds: “We had to recreate the
original roof trusses in form and size and
provide for many more functions with
minimum impact on the existing fabric of
the building.”
To this end, a steel solution was adopted
as the material has a high strength, which
allows for smaller lightweight sections to
be utilised making it a versatile material
choice, especially for long span structures
such as roofs.
For this project, a series of slender
members was utilised to form roof trusses
that created a clear 17.5m span across the
hall.
The trusses are 10.5m-high and 900mmwide,
and were installed through removable
sections in the temporary scaffold roof.
“Because we used steelwork for the
roof, the steelwork contractor was able
to construct the trusses in three sections
offsite and bolt the pieces together once
they were craned into place,” says Ms
Warren.
“This minimised working at height and
aided transportation to site.”
The original roof trusses had deep,
plated haunches which were built into
brickwork buttresses. The buttresses are
two storeys high and incorporate brickwork
arches over the hall’s side corridors.
The new roof ’s design required a
significant increase of load and thrust to the
buttresses, and with the increased build-up
of finishes there was a subsequent decrease
in depth and stiffness of the truss haunches.
To overcome this, the team developed a
design utilising elastomeric bearing pads on
one side of the trusses that allowed them to
‘relax’ during the initial loading of the roof.
These movements were monitored
during construction and the bearings
locked in place once 50% of the roof buildup
was installed. This ensured the thrust on
the buttresses would not exceed the original
case, while minimising live-load deflections.
Using this technique avoided any timeconsuming
and costly strengthening works
to the original masonry structure.
The project also includes some other
steelwork elements such as demountable
side galleries - which required slender steel
beams hidden within a new acoustic floor
build up, modifications to the balcony to
support an organ, rebuilt dressing rooms,
and a new stage roof.
The judges say, following a fire, the
parameters of the original ceiling and roof
finishes were set. However, the need to
meet current regulations and improve plant
provisions resulted in the roof truss needing
to be slimmed down at its pinch point.
Battersea
Arts Centre
24
SSDA 2019 C O M M E N D A T I O N
Following a devastating fire in 2015, a steel-framed
roof structure has been installed to transform a
Grade II* listed arts centre in London.
FACT FILE
Architect:
Haworth Tompkins
Structural
engineer:
Heyne Tillett Steel
Main contractor:
8Build Limited
Client:
Battersea Arts
Centre
/The_case_for_steel#Take_a_load_off_your_foundations
/Long-span_beams
/Trusses
/Fabrication#Handling_and_transportation
/Construction
/Bridge_articulation_and_bearing_specification#Bearings
/Acoustic_performance_of_floors#Floor_treatments