Colemans carried out the deconstruction of an eight-storey building in the heart of the City of London, close to the Shard, Tower Bridge and many other iconic sites and landmarks, as part of a refurbishment and conversion of buildings into a 5-star hotel.
Our work at 15 and 16 Minories was the first stage in major redevelopment plans for the area, breathing new life into a key part of central London.
Our project involved the removal of all the asbestos and hazardous waste within the structures being demolished, the complete strip out of the building back to it bare structure and the deconstruction of the structure. The building had been constructed following bombings in central London so the construction was significantly heavier than normally experienced for a similar structure elsewhere.
Our engineering team developed a temporary works to support the increased weight of the equipment and enable demolition of the structure floor by floor, at a rate of production that was required to meet the client’s strict completion date.
The demolition works also included the breaking out and removal of two basement levels to the building and a two-storey ramp structure located on the east side of the site. This was executed in accordance with our engineers’ plans, using temporary works and an innovative sequence of removal that facilitated speed and safety.
Highlighting our engineering expertise, the eight-storey structure was deconstructed with a full encapsulated scaffold around the outside, which was taken down in stages as the demolition works progressed. Two 14-ton excavators with various demolition attachments were used to complete the sequential removal of the structural elements. All plant operated off the floor below the one being demolished, with suspended floor slabs supported by a variety of temporary works designed specifically for this project.
A crane was used to lower the plant between each floor until the structure was taken down to the second floor. Only the north gable end of the building was taken down to the ground floor in this fashion due to close proximity of the public in this area. Traditional demolition work was also completed using 20-ton and 40-ton excavators.
As part of the works, the Colemans team achieved a circular economy approach, crushing the mainly concrete demolition arisings on site for reuse as a piling mat and sub-base structure for the new buildings being constructed. Works included crushing the surplus material for resale within the local area, reducing the amount of traffic importing material into the city centre.
