Sat on weathering steel grillage,
spanning over a portion of Middle
Dock in London’s Canary Wharf
estate, a unique structure is under
construction.
Measuring 63m-wide × 23m-deep, the
five-storey steel-framed structure will
accommodate exclusive guest rooms,
restaurants and leisure space, such as a gym
and roof terrace for its members.
Numerous high-profile projects have
been completed at Canary Wharf over the
last three decades, including One Canada
Square, which at 236m-tall was the UK’s
tallest building until the Shard came along.
However, this job is unique and main
contractor Canary Wharf Contractors
(CWC) has never attempted any similar
projects as Senior Project Manager Eamon
McDermott explains: “Whilst we have
carried out many successful projects,
including the Elizabeth Line station at
Canary Wharf in close proximity to water,
we have never constructed a building
directly over a dock sitting on existing
marine piles.”
The project is utilising a series of existing
marine piles and pile caps, which were
constructed in the early 1980s to support
low-rise office buildings and a logistics
dockside deck that were demolished in
2017. They consist of 44 × 800mm diameter
piles, all of which are encased in steel.
“In order to re-use the existing marine
piles, we had to survey and measure
the corrosion rate of the steel casings to
establish if the pile had sufficient bearing
capacity,” adds Mr McDermott.
The piles were originally designed for a
minimum 100-year design life and, through
various testing, CWC was able to confirm
that they are still suitable for the projected
life of the new structure.
The foundations are a major factor in the
design of the building as they limit the size
and weight of the new structure. Because of
this, the choice of a steel framing solution
for the building was an easy decision.
“A steel frame, with lightweight concrete
composite slabs, ensured that the weight of
the building would remain relatively light
- a constraint brought about because of the
re-use of existing piles. It also provided
long spans, allowing flexibility for services
through holes in the beams and ensuring
that tight deflection criteria for the bespoke
cladding would be met,” explains Arup
Structural Engineer Eloise Allsop.
“A steel frame also meant that we could
optimise a structural grid that would spread
the loads to the piles as evenly as possible.”
The initial steelwork installation
consisted of erecting the steel deck, which
forms the lowest level of the structure.
This is made up of plated weathering steel
beams, which have been designed to spread
Leisure
On the water
A steel-framed structure, that sits above an east London dock,
has benefitted from using a weathering steel base as its allimportant
lowest level.
FACT FILE
Heron Quays Pavilion,
Canary Wharf, London
Main client:
The Quay Club
Design architect:
Jun Aoki Associates
Executive architect:
Adamson Associates
Main contractor:
Canary Wharf
Contractors
Structural engineer:
Arup
Steelwork contractor:
Elland Steel Structures
Steel tonnage: 1,600t
18 NSC
September 18
/Construction
/Braced_frames
/The_Shard,_London
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Corrosion_of_structural_steel
/Design
/Floor_systems#Composite_slabs
/Concept_design#Floor_grids
/Weathering_steel