Case studies
Project Overview
The Crescent in Farnborough was built in the 1980s and comprises of six General Demolition was contracted by Gleeds on behalf of Brick by Brick, to demolish the former Fairfield Halls NCP multi-storey car park situated at Hazeldean Road/Barclays Road, Croydon.
The location of the site posed several challenges; including the 24 hr London to Brighton mainline railway and the Croydon Magistrate court on two of the elevations and a UKPN substation supplying the electricity to Croydon town and the TFL Croydon tram link on the north elevation.
Scope of demolition works
Prior to commencement of the main works numerous agreements were required with all parties potentially affected by the project. This included Category 3 Basic Asset Protection Agreement (BAPA) with Network Rail and Transport for London and a party wall agreement and scaffold Licence with The Magistrate’s court. The enabling works included substantial general site clearance and the removal of notifiable asbestos within the car park, with radar service surveys of the site’s ground level. All elevations were scaffolded and the side adjacent to the access road was fully covered to protect the road from debris which required a robust neighbourly liaison schedule/newsletter process.
Built in the 1960s, the car park structure was ‘of its time’, constructed of reinforced concrete slabs and beams, notably without any fixtures, with the structure being held together by weight alone. The lack of physical ties posed a serious risk during demolition. General Demolition engineers designed several temporary structures to maintain structural integrity.
The first consideration was supporting the wall of the Magistrates court with a solution capable of withstanding collision from the heavy demolition directly above. Here large 1.3m deep thrust blocks were cast in situ and a steel propping system was installed to support the higher elevation.
Throughout the entire structure, upright sections were braced to the floors and sacrificial steel frames were used to support the pre-stressed concrete beams. The deconstruction of the car park was completed following a detailed sequence plan designed by General Demolition engineers, this ensured the structural integrity of the car park was maintained. The integral staircases were left in situ to provide additional support.
Through our careful and considered waste management process, we scored a 99.9% recyclability rate on this project.