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1/8News 1

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

SUMMER 2007

this issuep2 a towering s tory, Leeds

car park; p3 stairs lose

weight; p4 innovative

residential scheme;

p5 luxury hotel on Jersey;

p6 Trafford Centre expansion;

p7 saving on programme,

Manchester hotel; p8

Liverpool arena.

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2/8News 2

Increasing Leedsparking

As part of the development of a new Oncology Wingat St James University Hospital in Leeds, a new carpark 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) LLPwith external architecture by Pulmann Associates, is a

seven-storey structure built by SCC Limited from precast

reinforced concrete.

Tower of strength

The Floors and Precast division of Hanson Building Productshas completed the manufacture and installation for CivicEnvironmental 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 first

of its type to be built in the UK. The precast components are a

combination of curved wall panels, floor slabs and large precast

concrete beams for supporting the intermediate floors and roof

of the tower.

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

finish while maintaining the

requirement for natural cross-

ventilation, comprise a mixture

of precast concrete panels faced

with terracotta tiles, stainless-

steel mesh and galvanised-mesh

screens. The frame consists of

precast reinforced beam-and-

column 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.

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 large-

volume landfill.

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. Theuse 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.

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The Chairmans View

by Gerry Feenan

Having only recently been

appointed chairman I

appreciate this opportunity

to acknowledge the very

significant 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 confidence is well founded

and illustrated by the wide

variety of projects proving the

versatility of precast concrete,

featured in this issue.

Savings all round

Savings have already been made even before shoppers step inside the new shopping centreunder construction in Livingston, Scotland. Fortunately, with the co-operation of structural steelspecialist Severfield Reeve Structures, the design team agreed to Ebors proposal to coffer the soffit

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 flights

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

flights 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 soffit former, easing the

demoulding operation and

reducing the adhesion stresses

placed on the early-age concrete

to a minimum.

The solution clearly

demonstrates the benefits 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 floors 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 finish and will be one of the main architectural

features. A 500 tonne mobile crane with a 50m luffing jib was

used to install the units during a weekend road closure.

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Precast doing the rounds

B

isons crosswall and hollow-core concrete products have been specified 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 two-

bed apartments. Bisons design and production flexibility 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.

Handingover thereins

Anew chapter for Ebor

Concretes opens on1 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 confident 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.

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 specified 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 finish of the

products have been impressive,

and the project is moving along

quickly thanks to additional

aids such as the lifting hooksprovided by Bison. I expect the

build to be completed within the

estimated 13-week time scale.

This speed of construction

demonstrates how concrete

effectively meets the demands

of off-site construction in terms

of delivery, flexibility and quality.

Concrete was specified for itsstrength, durability and inherent

fire resistance. Total quantities

for the project: walls: 10,500m2 in

700 units, floors: 8500m2 in 1900

units, stairs: 60 flight and landing

units.

It is expected that the phase will

be completed by September

2007, with flats ready the

following month. Clients

engineer: Scott Hughes Design.Bisons engineer: Hadfield

Cawkwell Davidson. Architect:

Countryside Properties Ltd.

Hansonaquires

StructhermHanson 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 andcommercial buildings.

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5/8News 5

Fast build bedroomsfor Jersey hotel

This prestigious and impressive five-star Radisson arrow-shaped hotel at the entrance to the St Helier marina facesdirectly out to sea and will be one of the first 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 first-floor 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, floors and the

inner skin of the external walls, windows being full-height floor-to-

ceiling. All the precast concrete wall surfaces within the bedrooms

were ready for final 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 connectionsto be made with limited use of

grout and with hidden fixings to

hide the joints. As wall units were

positioned, fully fitted 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, floors and

pods in place, following trades

could begin on the first-fix. 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 affectthe 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 finish 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 floors.

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6/8News 6

Expansion at TheTrafford Centre

Following on from its previous extensive and successfulwork at the Trafford Centre, Trent Concrete has secured thecontract 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.

Bullivantembraces Buchan

F

oundation engineering company Roger Bullivant Ltd has

extended its specialist precast concrete division with theacquisition 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.

Trents 6.4m contract includes

a variety of unique precast

elements, some weighing up

to 24 tonnes. On the external

elevations, there are storey-

height 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-brick-

faced pilaster/cornice units

typically 2.6m wide and 8m high,

cornice units and support beams.

Tapered circular columns 900mm

diameter and 7.2m high withbeam-and-hollow core flooring

above form the colonnade

and a central coliseum feature

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 reputationand 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 buildingindustry, including tunnel linings,

shaft segments and jacking

pipes.

Newcrosswall

constructionguide

Copies of Crosswall construction:

High performance buildingsusing concrete frames and

cladding can be downloaded

from www.concretecentre.com

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 buff-

coloured reconstructed stone

mix with an acid-etched finish.

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.

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Reducing theprogramme

W

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.

Concrete visionFor Milbank Floors, last years new factory which was built fromits own precast concrete products was only a beginning. Bymid summer, the Brandon site aims to meet an ever-expanding

demand by doubling the number of its 150m casting beds for

prestressed hollow-core flooring, 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 mouldswill increase capacity for at least 50 grey concrete and concrete-brick

panels a day by the end of the year.

Crowne Plaza,Manchester

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

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 floor 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.

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.

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 floors.

Client is Ician Developments,

with main contractor Sir Alfred

McAlpine and precaster Buchan

Concrete Solutions.

Milbank Crosswall helps PCE Ltd deliver Countryside Properties Plcs

demanding programme at St Helens

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SPA MembersAggregate 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 LtdTelephone: 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

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

News

A product group of the British PrecastConcrete Federation Limited

www.structural-precast-association.org.uk

Clive handsover

The end of May was asignificant milestone inthe history of the SPA with

the retirement of Clive Budge

from British Precast.

For the past 12 years Clive hasbeen 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 significant, 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

Custom-designed concrete units from Tarmac Precast are being used to construct a new 10,600-capacity 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

flights 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.

Photo: Ian Lawson Photography, English Partnerships, LIVERPOOL VISION