What did we do?
We successfully completed the civil and structural design for the major redevelopment of the Cadent Gas site in Slough. This involved the demolition of the three existing office buildings and their replacement with a new 25,000 sq ft, state-of-the-art office building and separate 10,500 sq ft workshop and stores facility. The new structures were designed to encompass modern office functionality and efficiency to meet the growing needs of the business. Acies was engaged on the project from RIBA Stage 1 all the way through to project completion and handover.
How did we do it?
We worked collaboratively with the main contractor, Elliot Group to ensure our design embodied the client’s priorities for sustainability and longevity. Our design incorporated a two-storey pinned braced steel frame for the offices, supporting a reinforced concrete (RC) composite floor. The workshop consisted of a steel portal frame with a partial mezzanine floor to one side of the building and steel beams supporting an RC concrete composite floor. RC pad foundations were adopted to support both buildings throughout. The adaptability of this steel frame design and shallow pad foundations contributed towards the overall sustainability goals of the project.
What challenges did we face or help to resolve?
The site remained operational during the demolition work and subsequent construction of the new office building, therefore careful consideration was given to ensure minimal disruption for staff. Another aspect of the site being occupied was that many services had to be retained such as the existing gas holder, high pressure gas pipes and various buried services which criss-crossed all over the site. Detailed planning and co-ordination was essential to avoid any clashes with the new building foundations.
Additionally, when conducting our ground investigation work, we found that the water table on the site was shallow below ground level which posed a further challenge. Careful design calculations and modelling allowed us to deliver a robust and durable foundation design, suitable for the ground conditions.
How did we resolve those challenges?
We worked flexibly with the wider project team to deliver the redevelopment in phases which reduced the level of disruption on site. Careful co-ordination and due diligence during the design process was taken ensure the existing underground services were incorporated at the outset, rerouting them where necessary to avoid any potential conflicts and unexpected delays.
In collaboration with our RSK colleagues, we identified contaminated ground present across the site. Extensive ground remediation work was undertaken to remove and dispose of the contaminated soil in adherence to the highest environmental and safety standards.
What impact did our work have for the client?
Our extensive structural design expertise ensured that we could deliver the most sustainable solution for the client. The structural steel frame and shallow pad foundations design is highly adaptable and easy to decommission and recycle. As a result, both the office building and the workshop building, were calculated to have embodied carbon totals considerably below the LETI 2030 target for both the substructure and the superstructure, underlining the efficiency of the structures.
The project is on target to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ for both buildings. This illustrates the focus on sustainability and environmental standards that Acies and the wider project team delivered for the client.
