SSDA 2018 M E R I T
Seventy Wilson,
London
The Victoria Palace Theatre was built
by prominent theatre designer Frank
Matcham in 1911 while, historically,
the site has been home to a music or
entertainment hall since the mid-1800s.
The main project objectives were to
maximise the potential of the stage and fly
tower, extend the back-of-house facilities,
improve the comfort of the auditorium to seat
1,528 people, while maintaining the building’s
historic features.
“We had to shape the new structure
around the idiosyncrasies of an old and very
individual building. Working in steel made
this possible,” says Aedas Arts Team Project
Architect Jonathan Williams.
One of the other main components
of the scheme was the enlargement of the
existing stage house. This involved encasing
the existing masonry structure with the
new steel and reinforced concrete structure,
which will eventually allow for the forming
of a significant new opening through the
existing rear wall into the new structure,
while extending the stage area for future
productions.
“One of the client’s main priorities was to
widen the proscenium opening to improve
the sightlines in the auditorium, enhancing
the audience experience and seating value.
This became in jeopardy as the main
contractor experienced programme slippage
and could not accommodate the sectional
insitu RC beam that was to be built over
the original proscenium girder, making the
latter redundant,” explains Conisbee Project
Engineer Gavin McLachlan.
“We revisited the design and devised a
sectional steel beam that worked compositely
with the original girder, and allowed
steelwork contractor SDM to work in parallel
with other site activities to achieve the client’s
aspiration without impacting the overall
programme.
The judges say the remodelling of the
theatre has been extremely challenging,
ensuring that it will remain a prominent
venue for years to come.
36 NSC
October 18
At 70 Wilson Street in London the
internal space of a 1980s office
building has been rationalised and
two new storeys have been added
– all with an efficient structural design that
dramatically reduces the carbon footprint.
The works involved extending the height
of the building from five to seven storeys,
building a four-storey addition to one
elevation and remodelling the circulation
cores to provide more office space and an
additional lift.
The structural solution is simple and
economical. No amendments to the existing
foundations or frame were needed offering
significant cost savings. The design of the
new steel frame elements was minimal and
therefore cost-effective.
Two elegant spiral staircases have been
installed in the upper offices to connect
the fifth and sixth floors. A contemporary,
simple design has been created, utilising a
central deep flat-plate stringer with external
diagonal balustrades. The design of the
stairs was undertaken with finite element
modelling to check for both deflections and
frequency, allowing sizes to be reduced as far
as possible.
In summary, the judges say the team
cleverly added 25% floor area to this
1980s office without needing to strengthen
the existing steel structure. The original
steelwork, previously encased in concrete,
was exposed to make it a statement of
the building. This two-storey extension
is a fine example of how testing and good
engineering can give a steel building new life.
FACT FILE
Architect: astudio
Structural engineer:
Heyne Tillett Steel
Steelwork
contractor:
TSI Structures Ltd
Main contractor:
Willmott Dixon
Client: Stanhope
Victoria Palace Theatre
Refurbishment, London
FACT FILE
Architect:
Aedas Arts Team
Structural
engineer: Conisbee
Steelwork
contractor: SDM
Fabrication Ltd
Main contractor:
8Build Ltd
Client: Delfont
Mackintosh
© Tony McAteer
© Philip Vile
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/Multi-storey_office_buildings