Education
The second Gherkin
can be demounted
more easily than its
predecessor
Small wonder
18 NSC
Jun 20
Offering students and professionals
an innovative and handson
construction experience
in the built environment,
Constructionarium is a not-for-profit
organisation with a number of sites
throughout the country.
The initiative to build the
Constructionarium was originally pioneered
in a joint venture between Imperial College
London, Expedition Engineering and John
Doyle Construction.
Since 2003, more than 12,000 delegates
have attended Constructionarium to
work in teams over six days to build one
of their carefully designed projects. Each
project is a scaled down replica of an iconic
structure from around the world, mirroring
the challenges of life on site and enabling
students to apply the knowledge they have
gained in a practical, safe and relevant
environment.
This higher education stratagem is also
aimed at addressing the current shortfall in
practical construction and design expertise
among graduates, and attract prospective
students by offering an onsite degree.
One of these scaled-down mini
structures is London’s Swiss Re building,
also dubbed the Gherkin, which Caunton
Engineering, in conjunction with Expedition
Engineering, fabricated and supplied in 2007
for the Constructionarium at the National
Construction College at Bircham Newton in
Norfolk (see NSC July 2008).
“The original mini-Gherkin was a great
success, and we’ve now been contracted to
fabricate and supply a second one for the
Constructionarium’s new site in Southall,”
explains Caunton Engineering Technical
Director Robert Weeden.
“Our aim for the mini Gherkin II was
to reduce the fabrication time and increase
repetition, thereby making it safer and
quicker for site operatives to erect.”
The second mini-Gherkin is similar in
design to its predecessor. It is just under
12m-high, has a base diameter of 4.4m and
a diameter of 4.9m around its middle. The
steelwork supports a Tata Steel Durbar steel
floor plate to create three upper levels.
The most important difference between
the two Gherkins is the new structure has
been designed without a positive fixing to
the ground slab. Instead, it has a ring beam,
a design change made by Caunton’s technical
team to allow the new structure to be fully
mobile.
“With a ring beam replacing holding
down bolts, the Gherkin will not just be
available at the Constructionarium’s new site,
but it can easily be moved from site to site,
such as the premises of interested companies,”
adds Mr Weeden. “This was an important
criteria for our client.”
The ring beam is fabricated from
FACT FILE
Mini-Gherkin two
Main client:
Constructionarium
Steelwork contractor:
Caunton Engineering
Steel tonnage: 13t
Following on from the success of its first mini-Swiss
Re (Gherkin) building, Caunton Engineering has
fabricated a second similar structure to be located at the
Constructionarium’s new site in Southall, west London.
/Construction
/Design
/Fabrication
/Construction#Steel_erection