While the residential development from St George has been attracting headlines for the wrong kind of reasons (eg Shades of Gross ad for luxury flats is dropped says The Independent), the builders have been hard at work.
On Saturday 7th February 2015 Laing O’Rourke took delivery of approximately 400 trucks of concrete to the site from factories in Kings Cross and Silvertown for a 24-hour continuous pour. They placed 3,200m3 of concrete in one go, making it the largest single pour that Laing O’Rourke has ever done.
Once completed in spring 2018, the tower will have 57,000 tonnes of concrete in its structure.
The newly-formed raft slab will carry the weight of the full concrete structure, distributing the weight evenly across 36 large diameter bearing piles. It is estimated that the concrete will take 56 days to achieve its specified target strength.
The overnight pour filled an excavated hole 18 metres deep, resulting in a raft slab up to 4.5-metres thick. This concrete slab will provide stability for the 170-metre-high tower in the face of wind resistance, creating an internal lever arm across its base and providing a large mass to anchor the form.
This asymmetrical tower has been designed by Ian Simpson Architects and features a dynamic double envelope façade with two distinct layers. This double-skin approach is designed to help fresh air to circulate the building, reducing the need for further cooling systems. It also gives the building an unusual curved form, as shown in the image below.
Michael Bryn-Jones, managing director of St George South London, said: “We are delighted with the ongoing building progress at One Blackfriars. This vast concrete pour marks a significant milestone in the construction of the tower and it is thrilling to see a record-breaking pour conducted at a St George site. Work will now commence apace and Londoners will be able to watch as One Blackfriars begins to take shape on the city skyline.”
St George is the luxury arm of the Berkeley Group. One Blackfriars will have 274 flats, from studios costing more than £1m to penthouse suites expected to fetch up to £23m.
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