We were asked by our client to review the requirements for facade retention on an old Victorian school building in Southall.
The roof and floors of the existing building had to be removed. In doing so, a substantial gable wall would have been left unrestrained. In order to avoid using traditional facade retention systems, we used a steel cruciform beam internally, designed in part to form part of the permanent structure such that the temporary stability design did not conflict with the subsequent installation of the permanent work’s design.
The design was further simplified by using the external scaffold system – required in any event to provide access for cleaning the facade – as a lateral brace to secure the gable in the temporary case during construction works.
