As one of the capital's most ambitious and prestigious regeneration projects, the redevelopment of London Bridge Railway Station and its surrounding area which includes The Shard, represents a multi-faceted, multi-level engineering challenge with which tremco illbruck has been engaged at every stage in the supply of Migua mechanical movement joints.
tremco illbruck's involvement began some five years ago when the company provided design assistance as well as a large quantity of movement joints for the refurbishment of the station plaza; moving across the area of the bus station and on towards the base of the Shard, the UK's tallest structure.
Now the manufacturer has been called upon again to produce both standard and bespoke movement joints for the reconstruction of the main platforms within London Bridge station. The work involves the creation of additional access from the St. Thomas Street end; at all stages having to take account of multi-directional and very large load conditions as well as the variety of surface finishes being laid.
Simon Foy is the Technical Manager for tremco illbruck and he has been involved throughout the various phases of the project. He explained "This has been a very complex project which has spread its way around the whole of the environs to London Bridge, requiring us to work with a large number of interested parties or stakeholders such as London Transport and Network Rail, as well as the local authority and the various specialist contractors.
"The latter have included Grants of Shoreditch, the flooring company which laid the paving and other surfaces around the station plaza and then also the bus station. Another contractor, Blu-3 carried out the work around The Shard for which MACE was the main contractor.
"Amongst the technical issues we have had to help deal with has been the sheer scale of The Shard which was monitored throughout its construction to ensure it wasn't causing heave beneath the adjoining properties. And now with the station platforms we have had to accommodate the torsion effects of the trains pulling in alongside. We have been able to draw on some of our experiences from Heathrow Terminal 5 in order to assist the consultants as they have come up with each fresh challenge."
Following consultation with architects Pascal & Watson in 2010, FP90/80 Ni movement joints were laid by Grants in the areas of the station concourse and plaza. Then, in 2012, tremco illbruck worked with Townsend Landscape Architects to develop a special-height, heavy-duty version of the FP90 joint which was laid in front of the entrance to the Shangri-La Hotel at ground level in The Shard. In addition, over the same period, more FP90/80 units were supplied to Grants for work in the bus terminal.
Now for the platform refurbishment being carried out with WSP Engineers and the Grimshaw architectural practice, the manufacturer is supplying a quantity of its FS all metal joints with special extended side fix legs; and bespoke solutions at floor/escalator junctions.
tremco illbruck are the exclusive distributor of Migua movement joints in the UK.
