Location: Bromley-by-Bow, London (circa. 2021)
Design Brief: Balustrades – Block D comprised of 26 Stories & Block B comprised of 14 Stories
CAD System: AutoCad Advance Steel
Mid 2021 I was presented with a project in East London that covered 2 new residential tower blocks. One 14 stories tall, and the other, a commanding 26 stories. The brief was fairly straightforward – come up with a system that could make the fabrication and installation as efficient as possible whilst maintaining the architect’s design aesthetic.
This reminded me of a project I had worked on many years earlier while still in New Zealand. The infill bars weren’t completely welded, instead they were drilled and captivated within the outer frame. The only issue here was that we weren’t using a round bar or tube, we were using flat bars.
The result was a plasma cut top and bottom rail with just enough clearance to allow the flat bar infills to be inserted and welded from behind. Welding distortion and grinding were kept to a minimum which really helped to speed production.
The other issue was installation: how do you account for early production while still ensuring the balustrades are going to fit? The answer was a unique first fix bracket system that once installed would make allowance of up to 25mm of variance in the concrete structure.
By also making these universal I was able to reduce fabrication set up as well as logistics. If the site teams don’t have to find a particular bracket then they really only need to make sure they have the right quantities delivered at any given time.
So it was with this idea that I was able to help deliver 830m of complete design balustrades in a matter of weeks rather than the originally anticipated months.
