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To create the new modern office facilities with retail space, two new storeys needed to be added to the top of the building with a glazed, enclosed, brown roof.
The façade also needed replacing on two elevations, four new lifts were required, and the office floors were to be fully fitted out to a Category A specification.
The works provided GKR with complex logistical and operational challenges, requiring unique solutions.
As common with many projects in the heart of London, access to the project for deliveries was extremely restricted.
Fetter Lane can only be entered and exited on one side and the adjacent Norwich Street was not large enough to fit large vehicles.
The solution, therefore, was to build a large gantry spanning the junction of Fetter Lane and Norwich Street above the road to allow large vehicles to pass underneath.
In addition, a 6m running beam spanning the length of Fetter Lane allowed lorries to reverse underneath the lifting beam. The lorries could then unload onto the gantry and drive away easily after.
Norwich Street has a narrow path restricting pedestrian access. To overcome this, the independent scaffold was cantilevered out over the road.
The scaffold was built double width to accommodate two separate phases of the works. For the initial demolition works the scaffold was required to be close to the façade. For the rebuild phase, the inside bay of the scaffold was dismantled to allow for the new façade extending out up to a metre.
Scaffold was needed for the high-level works at the rear elevation. However, due to the courtyard below being a fire and plant area, scaffold could not be erected from the ground.
Therefore, the rear elevation was cantilevered out from the roof level and the rear terrace at 5th floor level. Access around the 2 stair cores was allowed by suspending the scaffold from the terrace area and the roof cantilevers.
Both the main stair core in the centre of the building and the roof above needed to be demolished. There was a requirement to continue to demolish the stairs and lift shafts below and the roof above when the party wall license was issued.
To work around this, we built a suspended crash deck at the 6th floor level. The 6m beams were drilled into the opposing walls for support meaning the staircase below could be demolished. The crash deck was then able to be used for the demolition of the roof above.
Without a goods hoist it was challenging to remove the materials from the demolition works carried out on the upper floors.
The existing lift shafts became drop zones. Very heavy duty crash decks were erected from the basement to ground floor level. This allowed material to be safely dropped down within the shafts from the upper floors.
The access provided by GKR allowed for the full renovations and added elevations of Fetter Lane.
Through the careful management of logistics and planning, the complex works were delivered safely to programme.
The success of the project was recognised by the City of London Considerate Contractor Scheme, winning the Gold Award for our works.
