What can you do if you are convinced a structure will work but can’t prove it to code?

• Jessica Foster ^[1]
  1. [1] MEng
• Localización: The Structural Engineer: journal of the Institution of Structural Engineer, ISSN 1466-5123, Vol. 99, Nº. 6, 2021, págs. 18-22
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Ten per cent of the UK’s emissions are directly associated with construction, with embodied carbon responsible for almost half of total new construction emissions expected between now and 2050. Retrofi tting and extending existing buildings minimises waste of the materials and energy already invested in these structures and the amount of additional material used.

    However, altering or adding storeys to a building can alter load paths and increase global loading.

    Additionally, change of use may increase the loads applied to the fl oors and supporting beams.

    A thorough understanding of the original building structure, and engineer’s intent, is needed to get the most out of the existing structure.

    This article explores ways to justify reuse of existing structures, relating them to a project where, at Civic Engineers, we successfully used all the tools at our disposal to prove that an existing 1960s offi ce block, at Cannon Green in central London (Figure 1), could be given new life. The project added two storeys of offi ce space and roof terraces, transformed the ground fl oor into a bar/restaurant, and the basement car parks into a gym space, with minimal strengthening works (Figure 2).

    With a focus on concrete structures, the fi rst section of the article provides an overview of the approach taken to justify additional vertical load. The second section focuses on increasing distributed loads on slabs and beams. Steel-framed buildings share many of the same philosophies, although the technical detail is diff erent, and not explored in detail.