Mixed-use
NSC 17
February 19
installed, some within metres of the Crossrail
Elizabeth Line tunnel that is located under
the site. The piles have allowed the basement
excavation to begin and then the ground
floor transfer slab to be cast.
To form the ground floor, four steel
transfer beams, up to 33m long, were
installed and then cast into the slab to help
bridge over the basement auditorium, which
is a large column-free space.
With the slab completed, the above
ground steel erection was able to begin with
the project’s largest structure. This is the
seven-storey high Building A, which has
some long spans to accommodate the urban
gallery. These are up to 24m-long and could
only have been efficiently created with a steel
solution.
Erecting and designing this structure
has been anything but straightforward,
with one of the biggest challenges involving
the position of the new escalator shaft for
Tottenham Court Road tube station.
One of Building A’s columns in the northwest
corner sits directly above this shaft and
so foundations were out of the question and
consequently it is hung from cantilevering
steelwork.
Some large beams in the gallery, up to 34t
The bigger picture
The street that is still synonymous with music
publishers, music industry magazines and
recording studios will be partially refurbished
as part of the project’s phase two.
Skanska will refurbish some of the buildings
along the north side of Denmark Street, with many
independent music shops having their premises
updated with offices and residential accommodation
on the upper levels.
in weight, connect to this hanging column
and transfer the loads from above onto
adjacent columns.
“These beams are very large because
they also support the 24 moveable louvres
that weigh four tonnes each. Consequently,
there are some considerable loads being
transferred to the box section columns,” says
Engenuiti Associate Ian Hamilton.
All of the gallery’s columns are fabricated
plated box sections, with the largest
measuring 1,650mm × 400mm.
Meanwhile, a series of three 24m-long
three-storey high trusses forms the lid to the
gallery, with parts of the building’s upper
floors accommodated within their depth.
The works also cover a number of Grade II listed
buildings on Denmark Street, Denmark Place and St
Giles High Street (pictured above), some dating back
to before the Great Fire of London in 1666.
The ‘smithy’, a 300-year-old structure that has been
a stable yard and a blacksmith, has been placed on
a concrete raft and moved temporarily within the
site, before being returned to its original location to
become part of a new grassroots music venue.
18
Visualisation showing
the gallery’s retractable
façades
Steel construction
under way for the
gallery
Large temporary
beams were needed
for the construction of
Building B to span over
the basement works
/Construction#Steel_erection
/Fabrication
/Trusses
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings