Around 100 lucky students in Coventry can now get up even later and still get to lectures on time, following the completion of a new accommodation building within easy strolling distance of Coventry University.
The project was a major regeneration and refurbishment of the building known locally as “The Pillar Box” by property developer Oakmoor Estates, undertaken by steelwork specialist Ballard Engineering of Staffordshire and incorporating a two-storey roof extension using Kingspan Multibeam purlins, plus Multichannel side rails and floor joists. The former Royal Mail-owned telephone exchange underwent a transformation in sympathy with the surrounding architecture, to provide a restaurant and children’s play facility in the basement and ground floor, and a total of 94 units over four further floors which provide accommodation for over 100 students.
The project was described by Oakmoor Estates as particularly ambitious: the building has two wings, each of which posed challenges in terms of unique features that had to be incorporated into the design, and very cramped city centre conditions leaving little room for manoeuvre.
The larger North wing was the first to be started, with one of the earliest tasks the strengthening of the floors to bear the load from the extension on the top of the previously flat-roofed building. Initial plans specified a partial timber frame for the extension; however, this would have added to the installation time and necessitated unsightly and awkward internal columns. A better solution, recommended by Ballard Engineering and championed by structural engineers The Sprigg Little Partnership, was a complete steel frame incorporating Multibeam purlins and Multichannel rails and joists from Kingspan Structural Products.
Kingspan Multichannel is a unique range of ‘C’ sections which is increasingly being specified as a replacement for timber or steel in traditional constructions. Kingspan, a market leader in cold rolled section design with one of Europe’s leading full scale testing facilities, offers customers an unrivalled resource in terms of experience and investment in research and design. Multichannel is complemented by the Kingspan Multibeam purlin and rail system, which is designed to suit buildings with pitched, mansard, flat or curved roof construction. With a high strength to weight ratio, Multibeam offers the most efficient range of sections to suit the widely varying conditions and loadings required in modern roof construction.
Chris Oliver, director of Ballard Engineering, commented: “Changing the specification from part-timber to a full steel system gave us much more flexibility, not to mention speeding up the turnaround significantly. Although
this was a slightly more expensive option, the savings overall in both lead and installation time more than made up for it. And there’s the added reassurance from dealing with a company like Kingspan that has such commitment to quality control and customer support.”
Following the successful construction of the North wing extension, Oakmoor and Ballard adopted the same design solution for the South wing. With an autumn completion deadline that simply couldn’t be missed, speed of delivery and erection were very important factors and Kingspan played a significant role: throughout the project thousands of metres of products were manufactured and delivered to site within just a couple of weeks of the orders being placed.
Chris Oliver continued: “Multichannel is very easy to work with and the technical support from Kingspan really does help. As well as being quick to install, another factor which reduces onsite time is the absence of snagging – everything fits just fine, first time. I’ve worked with Kingspan before and I’ll certainly do so again, as the ease of installation, rapid turnaround and product quality all make a huge difference in the success of a construction project like this.”