The facility will sit
in the middle of a
redeveloped seafront
NSC 15
April 18
a large column-free hall topped with a
wave-like roof, with each one sloping in the
opposite direction to the other.
The wet zone’s wave descends from a high
nearest the seafront and ends with a singlestorey
element with a flat roof which houses
the café and bar.
On the opposite side, the dry zone’s wave
ends with a similar single-storey flat roofed
zone which houses changing rooms and
plant rooms, as well as supporting further
plant on its roof.
As well as being a nod to the waterpark’s
location, the wave-like roofs, and in
particular the wedge shapes, have been
chosen for their efficiency.
According to the project architect, Space
& Place, the two wedge shapes provide
optimum volumetric arrangements offering
better views through to the seafront,
reducing the overall visual mass of the
building and creating a more interesting
architectural form.
The concept was then progressed with the
introduction of opposing curved wave-like
roofs to reflect the tranquility of the sea.
Locally-based EvadX was contracted on
a design and build basis for the project’s
steelwork, and once on site the company
completed its erection work in six weeks.
This work included installing approximately
600m2 of metal decking for a plant deck.
Perimeter columns are generally spaced
at regular 6m centres. However, due to the
potential for excessive wind loadings because
of the building’s seafront location, these
members were changed from UC sections
to UBs.
“Using UBs was an economical design
procedure as it gave us a deeper steel
member, which offered better resistance
against the wind,” explains EvadX Project
Manager Steve Morris.
“Because of the close proximity to the sea
we have also had to paint the steelwork with
a high-spec protective coating to prevent
corrosion in this aggressive environment.”
To create the wave-like forms of the two
adjacent halls’ roofs, a series of 28m-long
× 500mm-deep trusses spans the wet zone,
while 28m-long 838UB sections span
over the dry zone. The steelwork is set in
stepped formation, with shorter and higher
supporting columns rising and falling to
create the wave appearance.
“Trusses were needed to accommodate
the wet zone’s ductwork and services,“ says
ISG Project Manager Steve Lowton. “The
dry zone has fewer services and these will be
accommodated under the long-span beams.”
A couple of trusses support flumes and
consequently they have been designed to
accommodate the associated extra loadings
of the water and movement. EvadX welded
nodes to the underside of these trusses which
will act as a connection to the flumes when
they are installed by the specialist contractor.
One of the flumes exits the building
at a height of 13m and then re-enters the
structure 4m lower down and two bays
further along the structure. To support
the flume an external steel column tree,
embedded in a deep concrete base, will
support the flume at the tips of its four steel
branches.
EvadX used a single 50t-capacity mobile
crane for most of the steelwork erection.
Both the trusses and the 28-long roof beams
were brought to site in two pieces, which
were spliced together on the ground before
being individually lifted into place.
“The form of the building has been
designed as a modern structure, but also one
in keeping with its surroundings, and as such
we are using materials that are in keeping
with the overall Rhyl master plan,” says Mr
Lowton.
A 3m-high masonry wall skirts the
structure at ground level where impact
resistance is required. Above, generous
elevations of glazing and polycarbonate
translucent panels are fixed to three rings
of steel box sections that wrap around the
frame at 3m, 4.2m and 8.4m-high levels.
Alliance Leisure Senior Business
Development Manager Julia Goddard says:
“The development in Rhyl will completely
transform the town’s leisure provision,
creating a standout attraction which will
draw an estimated 35,000 extra visitors to the
area each year.
“Creating sustainable leisure facilities
which inspire community engagement
is always our ambition and this latest
development project will certainly achieve
this.”
The Rhyl waterpark and leisure centre is
due to open in early 2019.
Leisure
FACT FILE
Rhyl waterpark and
leisure centre
Main client:
Alliance Leisure
Architect:
Space & Place
Main contractor: ISG
Structural engineer:
Furness Partnership
Steelwork contractor:
EvadX
Steel tonnage: 260t
The steel was erected
in six weeks
/Leisure_buildings#Ability_to_span_long_distances
/Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Design_.26_Build
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Construction#Installation_of_metal_decking
/Design_codes_and_standards#Wind_actions
/Steel_construction_products#Standard_open_sections
/Design
/Paint_coatings
/Corrosion_of_structural_steel
/Trusses
/Long-span_beams
/Welding
/Construction#Mobile_cranes
/Construction#Mobile_cranes
/Fabrication#Handling_and_transportation
/Leisure_buildings
