PENROSE STREET

The scheme, a six-storey development in Elephant and Castle, repurposed a redundant painting workshop, once used for the production of theatre scenic canvases, into nine residential units above commercial premises.

Shockledge were appointed to deliver the structural and civil engineering from inception to completion, along with performing the Network Rail roles of contractor’s engineering manager (CEM) and contractor’s responsible engineer (CRE), in order to achieve the required approvals.

The original building was an unusual construction with thick masonry buttressing walls providing a four-storey clear height internal space. The proximity of these large walls to an elevated viaduct made any ambition to replace them unfeasible.

Therefore, the structural scheme was to keep in place the existing flank walls, construct an internal steel frame and rebuild the front and rear elevations using reclaimed brickwork. The sequence of the build to maintain the flank walls stability in the temporary case was an important aspect. As such all temporary works and build sequencing were designed by Shockledge and integrated into the permanent works to ensure the optimal structural and building methodology was achieved.

The use of 4D time-simulation animation for the construction sequence enabled valuable understanding of the build and helped facilitate network rail approval in a short time period.