Project Description
Client: St Joseph Homes
Stakeholder: Berkeley Group
Project Duration: 34 weeks
Project Scope:
Demolition of 2no. portal frame warehouses with asbestos cement roofs. Demolition of a 4-storey office block with main elevation adjoining a footpath. Removal of an existing canal wall and subsequent replacement with a sheet piled wall.
Project Constraints & Challenges:
- The office building was constructed with a basement retaining wall shoring Lower Loveday Street footpath.
- Former asbestos manufacturing was undertaken at Shadwell Street and there was ground contamination identified across the whole site.
- The site was historically filled so extensive 4-5m deep foundations were encountered throughout.
- A PortaDam system was utilised to allow for the removal of the canal wall and a new one installed in its place. The replacement of the existing canal wall had to be done sequentially with confined working room due to ongoing piling activities for the construction phase.
- Rigorous vibration monitoring was undertaken due to the Grade II listed bridge (built in 1842) that passed over the Birmingham Fazeley Canal.
Achievements:
- The office building was demolished down to basement level using a hybrid method of de-build and mechanised high-reach machine, keeping Lower Loveday Street fully operational for the duration of the works.
- The site remediation strategy minimised the amount contaminated materials to landfill, whilst maintaining the integrity of the of the engineering piling mat solution.
- We worked closely with the Canal River Trust (CRT) developing a healthy working relationship and giving them reassurance that the canal was being protected from the demolition works.
- We delivered the phases on time and to budget which allowed follow on contractors to commence.