Partial conversion of an office block with the remaining section being demolished and a new purpose built RC frame constructed. The final building will be a 326 bedroom Premier Inn Hotel.
The scheme at West Smithfield in London is the partial conversion of an office block with the remaining section being demolished and a new purpose built RC frame constructed. The final building will be a 326 bedroom Premier Inn Hotel. The northern section of the building will be retained and converted. The existing lift and stair cores do not allow the floor plate to be maximised, they will be removed in the cut and carve phase of the works and replaced with a new staircore. The lift cores will be located in the new build section of the building. The existing cores provide lateral support to the building, in the temporary condition when these have been removed and not replaced temporary bracing will be incorporated to provide support. In the final building the new stair core will provide the required support. The southern section of the building will be demolished and a new build wing constructed. By minimising the floor to floor height and the depth of the floor slabs it is possible to form more floors within the existing building envelope and therefore maximise the net area of the building. The southern wing includes a vehicle access from Cock Lane to the rear of site. The bell mouth of this access is located under the building, this introduces a 16m span in the structure above. This span has been achieved with a virendeel steel truss over several levels.
