A 12-year programme to extend and refurbish the Battersea Arts Centre includes a new steel-framed roof spanning the facility’s Grand Hall and replacing a structure that was destroyed in a fire four years ago
Commendation: Battersea Arts Centre
Architect: Haworth Tompkins
Structural engineer: Heyne Tillett Steel
Main contractor: 8Build
Client: Battersea Arts Centre
A steel solution was adopted as the material has a high strength, which allows for smaller lightweight sections to be used, making it a versatile material choice, especially for long span structures such as roofs.
For this project, a series of slender members were used to form roof trusses, creating a clear 17.5m span across the hall.
The trusses are 10.5m high and 900mm wide and were installed through removable sections in the temporary scaffold roof.
The project also includes other steelwork elements such as demountable side galleries, which required slender steel beams hidden within a new acoustic floor build-up, modifications to the balcony to support an organ, rebuilt dressing rooms and a new stage roof.
Produced by the BCSA and Steel for Life in association with Construction Manager
Comments are closed.