S T R U C T U R A L P R E C A S T A S S O C I AT I O N

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SUMMER 2007

this issue
p2 a towering story, Leeds car park; p3 stairs lose weight; p4 innovative residential scheme; p5 luxury hotel on Jersey;

Beaming up at the London School of Economics See Page 3

p6 Trafford Centre expansion; p7 saving on programme, Manchester hotel; p8 Liverpool arena.

News

Tower of strength
he Floors and Precast division of Hanson Building Products has completed the manufacture and installation for Civic Environmental of a variety of structural precast concrete components ranging in weight from 2.5 to 17 tonnes for incorporation into a digester tower. The tower at Thornley in Co Durham, which will be operated by Premier Waste, is the rst of its type to be built in the UK. The precast components are a combination of curved wall panels, oor slabs and large precast concrete beams for supporting the intermediate oors and roof of the tower.
The purpose of this prototype tank is to sanitise up to 150 tonnes of domestic refuse every 12 days. At the end of the process, it is sorted and recycled, eliminating the need for largevolume landll. The completed main structure shapes up at approximately 16m in diameter by 16.5m tall. The precast concrete components were manufactured at Hanson Building Products Derby and Somercotes sites and erected on site over four weeks. The use of off-site precast concrete elements and shorter installation times were key to the clients choosing this particular build method: another plus was the overall faster construction compared to previously built steel tanks.

Increasing Leeds parking

s part of the development of a new Oncology Wing at St James University Hospital in Leeds, a new car park was required to replace existing surface car parking and increase on-site parking. The new 1278-space multi-storey car park, designed by Hill Cannon (UK) LLP with external architecture by Pulmann Associates, is a seven-storey structure built by SCC Limited from precast reinforced concrete.

The form of construction uses a precast portal frame, arranged in a modular layout dictated by the requirements of parking bays and access aisles, giving a clear span across the parking bays. Vehicle circulation around the car park is via Hill Cannons

patented VCM circulation system (vertical circulation module). External elevations, which were resolved to provide an aesthetic nish while maintaining the requirement for natural crossventilation, comprise a mixture of precast concrete panels faced

with terracotta tiles, stainlesssteel mesh and galvanised-mesh screens. The frame consists of precast reinforced beam-andcolumn units connected by grouted rebar joints. The top section of the beam was cast in-situ, forming a monolithic

connection between precast slabs, beam and column. Precast retaining walls, stair cores and perimeter walls were all designed to be supported off the main structure. The frame is built off piled foundations, piles extending around 17m.

News

The Chairmans View by Gerry Feenan

Having only recently been appointed chairman I appreciate this opportunity to acknowledge the very signicant contributions made by my predecessor John Milner and our secretary Clive Budge who retired on the 31st May. John is featured on page 4 with Paul Whitham who succeeds him as managing director at Ebor Concretes and Clive is pictured on page 8 with Norman Brown who has taken over as head of engineering services at British Precast. I am delighted to welcome Aggregate Industries as a full member of the association, contact details are on page 8. A major change within the membership is the acquisition of Buchan Concrete Solutions by Roger Bullivant Ltd, see page 7. RBLs optimism for the future of precast is matched by Milbanks decision to double the number of 150m casting beds at its new Brandon facility. This condence is well founded and illustrated by the wide variety of projects proving the versatility of precast concrete, featured in this issue.

Savings all round

avings have already been made even before shoppers step inside the new shopping centre under construction in Livingston, Scotland. Fortunately, with the co-operation of structural steel specialist Severeld Reeve Structures, the design team agreed to Ebors proposal to coffer the soft of the stair which leads to a 30% reduction in the unit weight.
Owing to the geometry and clear span requirements, the original design for the 24 precast concrete stair ights suggested a unit weight of 15 tonnes. However, individual items weighing over 12.5 tonnes exceeded both the overhead crane capacity in the casting hall and storage area at Ebors Ripon works. Further savings included a halving of transport costs as two ights instead of one per load was possible and the use of site cranage to handle and place the 10.5-tonne reduced-weight units without the need and expense of organising heavier cranage over the extended delivery period. However, to produce units with such a deep coffer, special jacks and compressed air systems were incorporated into the steel soft former, easing the demoulding operation and reducing the adhesion stresses placed on the early-age concrete to a minimum. The solution clearly demonstrates the benets of early involvement and close communication between all parties involved in the construction process.

London School of Economics

Alan Baxter & Associates are designing a new Academic Building for the London School of Economics in Lincolns Inn Fields, with Geoffrey Osborne Limited as the main contractor and Grimshaw as the project architect. The scheme requires large column free spaces at the lower levels to accommodate new lecture theatres. This has been achieved by hanging oors from a storey deep truss at roof level and with the introduction of eight 19m long precast concrete beams, each weighing 18 tonnes, which form the roof to the main lecture theatre. The units, manufactured and installed by Thorp Precast, have a high quality acid etch nish and will be one of the main architectural features. A 500 tonne mobile crane with a 50m lufng jib was used to install the units during a weekend road closure.

News

new chapter for Ebor Concretes opens on 1 July 2007 as John Milner (left) relinquishes his role as managing director to Paul Whitham. Determined to complete his 50 years service with Ebor, John will continue to support Paul part time for the next 1218 months as a consultant.
In welcoming Paul to the board, John is condent that it will be business as usual following successful bedding in during the past three months. Paul is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 20 years in the precast concrete industry. He has held a variety of operational and commercial roles in Charcon Tunnels, Costain Building Products and Tarmac Precast. Paul commented I am delighted to join Ebor and am looking forward to continuing the good work that John has done over the years in making Ebor one of the countrys leading suppliers of high-quality bespoke structural precast.

Handing over the reins A

Precast doing the rounds

isons crosswall and hollow-core concrete products have been specied by Countryside Properties for an innovative project at Sport City in Manchester. The development of two circular buildings, one ten and the other seven storeys, will accommodate 111 one- and twobed apartments. Bisons design and production exibility is evident as the team have worked to integrate their standard hollow-core and crosswall products into the circular building, while achieving the essential structural tie detail necessary to stitch the building together.
This speed of construction demonstrates how concrete effectively meets the demands of off-site construction in terms of delivery, exibility and quality. Concrete was specied for its strength, durability and inherent re resistance. Total quantities for the project: walls: 10,500m2 in 700 units, oors: 8500m2 in 1900 units, stairs: 60 ight and landing units. It is expected that the phase will be completed by September 2007, with ats ready the following month. Clients engineer: Scott Hughes Design. Bisons engineer: Hadeld Cawkwell Davidson. Architect: Countryside Properties Ltd.

Trevor Stack, construction director at Countryside Properties, comments: This was a challenging project conceived and designed to look completely different and push design boundaries. We specied Bisons products as its team was able to offer high-quality products quickly and provided practical solutions to practical issues, such as bespoke models for the external wall panels. The delivery and high quality nish of the products have been impressive, and the project is moving along quickly thanks to additional aids such as the lifting hooks provided by Bison. I expect the build to be completed within the estimated 13-week time scale.

Hanson aquires Structherm

Hanson Building Products has announced the aquisition of Structherm based in Meltham, West Yorkshire. Established in 1983 the company designs, manufactures and erects precast concrete walling systems for the housing sector, both low and high rise, education projects and commercial buildings.

News

Fast build bedrooms for Jersey hotel

his prestigious and impressive ve-star Radisson arrowshaped hotel at the entrance to the St Helier marina faces directly out to sea and will be one of the rst to be seen when approaching the marina. The joint-venture scheme by Jersey Waterfront Hotel Developments Ltd and Ironbridge Estates is being built by Cameron Building Contractors, with Bell and Webster Concrete supplying 758 precast components each weighing up to 12.2 tonnes. The 12-week schedule included the construction of 166 bedrooms, including placing all bathroom pods, two four-storey stair wells and lift shafts.
After constructing the rst-oor steel frame and the connecting knuckle to form the arrow shape, Cameron Building opted for Bell and Websters Fast Build Rooms for the bedrooms, stair and lift areas. Factory-engineered concrete was used for all walls, oors and the inner skin of the external walls, windows being full-height oor-toceiling. All the precast concrete wall surfaces within the bedrooms were ready for nal preparation for the decorator.

Main contractor Cameron Building undertook responsibility for transport and deliveries, the trip taking three days from loading at the precast factory in Grantham, through delivery to the sea freight terminal at Portsmouth, and then by ferry to Jersey. On site, panels were craned into position, all joints being designed to enable connections to be made with limited use of grout and with hidden xings to hide the joints. As wall units were positioned, fully tted bathrooms 166 in all, weighing up to six tonnes were simultaneously craned into place. The pods were installed to create a vertical riser between rooms for mechanical and electrical services. With bedroom walls, oors and pods in place, following trades could begin on the rst-x. And

with cladding effectively off the critical path (the structure already had the inner skin of the external wall as well as a concrete lid) external cladding began. The only penetrations through the top slab were the vertical risers, which were capped with polystyrene and a thin layer of concrete to be core-drilled: these prevent the water ingress, which could affect the following tradesmen. Once the windows were installed, the structure has a high degree of weather-tightness, allowing other trades to follow on closely behind. Internal decoration consists of a sprayed surface nish applied directly to the concrete walls. In other hotels constructed by this technique, the factory-engineered concrete walls are painted with emulsion and carpet is laid directly onto the oors.

News

Expansion at The Trafford Centre

ollowing on from its previous extensive and successful work at the Trafford Centre, Trent Concrete has secured the contract for the design, detailing, manufacture and installation of the reconstructed stone cladding and features on the Barton Square Development, part of the new expansion programme at the Trafford Centre. The development consists of four L-shaped blocks arranged to form a central square, mall and colonnade.

23m radius and 10m high is constructed from 500 square columns 7.2 m high, faced with granite, and a curved cornice 8m long and 1.4m high arranged in a double line. The units are cast in a buffcoloured reconstructed stone mix with an acid-etched nish. Trent started the design and detailing process in late summer 2006, manufacturing began in November and will continue through 2007. Site works started on 26 March. Principal contractor: Bovis Lendlease Ltd; Concept architect: Chapman Taylor; Architect: Leach Rhodes Walker; Structural engineer: Connell Mott MacDonald.

New crosswall construction guide

Copies of Crosswall construction: High performance buildings using concrete frames and cladding can be downloaded from www.concretecentre.com

Bullivant embraces Buchan

oundation engineering company Roger Bullivant Ltd has extended its specialist precast concrete division with the acquisition of Cheshire-based Buchan Concrete Solutions from international property and services company AMEC. RBL intends to secure the future of the Buchan factory and its 170 employees and invest further in the award-winning business.
Said Steve Parker, production director at RBL, who will manage the Buchan operation in addition to his existing role Buchan is a well-established company with an excellent reputation and a good client base. It is already in the market place we want to expand into prisons, schools and hotels and the acquisition will make this transition smoother. With the support of both the Buchan and the RBL precast teams we shall see the turnover and consequent success of the business continue to grow . Last year, Roger Bullivant recorded a turnover of 110m, delivering solutions in piling, mini-piling, house foundations, ground improvement and special precast concrete, from manufacturing facilities at its Burton-on-Trent headquarters as well as two other sites. With a turnover in excess of 30 million, Buchan supplies precast concrete to the civil engineering and building construction markets. Recent projects have included prisons, hotels, apartments, student accommodation, schools and stadiums. In addition, the company offers a range of standard products for the civil engineering and building industry, including tunnel linings, shaft segments and jacking pipes.

Trents 6.4m contract includes a variety of unique precast elements, some weighing up to 24 tonnes. On the external elevations, there are storeyheight pilasters typically 8m high (the structure already had the inner skin of the external wall as well as a concrete lid) 1m wide, cornice units typically 8.8m long 1.4m high, a band course, and a 10.8m long plinth 445mm high. External corner towers consist of large raking ashlars,

each 8m high 10m girth overall with brick-faced units above typically 2.2m wide 6m high, and cornice units. The shop fronts on the internal malls use double part-brickfaced pilaster/cornice units typically 2.6m wide and 8m high, cornice units and support beams. Tapered circular columns 900mm diameter and 7.2m high with beam-and-hollow core ooring above form the colonnade and a central coliseum feature

News

Crowne Plaza, Manchester

T
Reducing the programme

his new Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manchester incorporates 228 bedrooms, restaurants, meeting rooms and a health club.

The building has a ground level entrance with double height space up to a structural transfer level at approximately 7m above the pavement. Above this transfer level, the hotel bedroom block rises eight storeys, with a plant room at roof level, and

below the footprint extends out to accommodate front and back of house facilities on both ground and mezzanine oors. Client is Ician Developments, with main contractor Sir Alfred McAlpine and precaster Buchan Concrete Solutions.

ith speed of the essence for a new distribution centre for Hellioslough being built at Wynyard, Stockton on Tees, main contractor Tolent Construction Ltd approached Roger Bullivant Ltd.
The concrete wall section is a direct replacement for the inner skin of blockwork and the integral ground beam enables panels to span between foundation bases. All the precast systems were installed in 15 working days, a time saving of 75% compared to traditional build. Client: Hellioslough. Main contractor: Tolent Construction Ltd. Architects: PCP Architects Ltd, Harrogate. Consulting civil and structural engineers: Kennedy Watts, Morpeth.

RBs dock leveller pits system is constructed from precast reinforced concrete sections that are combined to form a pit into which a wide range of dock levellers can be installed. This allows the main oor slab to be laid faster. The companys prowall panels span between dock pits, ensuring rapid erection and eliminating the requirement for traditional areas of cladding and steel post/rails. Panels are supplied complete with integral insulation to provide a U-value of 0.27W/m2K.

Concrete vision
or Milbank Floors, last years new factory which was built from its own precast concrete products was only a beginning. By mid summer, the Brandon site aims to meet an ever-expanding demand by doubling the number of its 150m casting beds for prestressed hollow-core ooring, and the Brandon site is also set to further the companys vision of the complete precast solution by making wall panels its next area of growth.
Investment in new curing chambers, casting pallets and upright moulds will increase capacity for at least 50 grey concrete and concrete-brick panels a day by the end of the year.

Milbank Crosswall helps PCE Ltd deliver Countryside Properties Plcs demanding programme at St Helens

News

Clive hands over

he end of May was a signicant milestone in the history of the SPA with the retirement of Clive Budge from British Precast.
Photo: Ian Lawson Photography, English Partnerships, LIVERPOOL VISION For the past 12 years Clive has been the secretary of the SPA, and from its inception in 1995 assisted the members and successive chairmen in ensuring the Associations aims have been achieved by promoting the use of high quality structural precast components. Prior to the formation of the SPA Clive was also secretary of its preceding organisations, the Precast Concrete Frame Association, and the Structural Concrete Consortium. Clives contribution to the structural precast concrete industry over the past 20 years has been signicant, and has always been highly valued by the SPA membership. Taking over from Clive (left) is Norman Brown who is well known within the industry having been associated with structural precast concrete for over 25 years.

Adding to Liverpool culture

ustom-designed concrete units from Tarmac Precast are being used to construct a new 10,600capacity arena that will form a major part of the Kings Waterfront development in Liverpool, the centrepiece for the citys Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008.
The mixed-use complex which will include the main arena and a convention centre is a major step for project partners English Partnerships, Liverpool Vision, Northwest Regional Development Agency and Liverpool City Council in attracting future economic development to the city. The arena will eventually host everything from concerts to childrens entertainment, as well as sporting events, and will help transform Liverpool into

a national and international tourism and leisure destination. Tarmac Precast has manufactured and delivered around 3000 custom-made units, including terracing units, step blocks, vomitory walls and stair ights to the development in a contract with Bolton-based steel contractor Watson Steel valued at around 1.6million. Tarmacs specialist site team worked closely with Watson Steel to ensure that the steelwork construction progressed in

parallel with the delivery and erection of the precast concrete units. Alex Harper, contract director at Watson Steel, said Having previously worked with Tarmac Precast on the Emirates stadium for Arsenal Football Club, we were aware of its track record of delivering within time scales. Its experience of supplying precast units to a number of prestigious stadium projects counts for a lot.

SPA Members
Aggregate Industries Telephone: 01455 288280 Bell & Webster Concrete Ltd Telephone: 01476 562277 Bison Concrete Products Ltd Telephone: 01283 495000

Buchan Concrete Solutions Telephone: 01606 843500 Roger Bullivant Concrete Products Ltd Telephone: 01283 525045 Ebor Concretes Ltd Telephone: 01765 604351

Hanson Concrete Products Telephone: 01773 602432 Milbank Floors Ltd Telephone: 01787 223931 SCC Ltd Telephone: 0161 432 7700 Tarmac Precast Concrete Ltd Telephone: 01778 381000

Thorp Precast Ltd Telephone: 01782 561155 Trent Concrete Structures Ltd Telephone: 0115 987 9747 A product group of the British Precast Concrete Federation Limited www.structural-precast-association.org.uk

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STRUCTURAL PRECAST ASSOCIATION 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB. Tel: 0116 253 6161. Fax: 0116 251 4568