PROJECT
ULSTER UNIVERSITY BELFAST CAMPUS
RPS OVERCAME MAJOR CHALLENGES TO DELIVER COMPLEX DETAILED STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR NEW UUB CAMPUS… CONSULTING ENGINEERS
G lobal professional services provider, RPS, was tasked with the structural design for the complex Ulster University Belfast Campus project on behalf of the main contractor, Sacyr. One of the cahllenges of the project for RPS was that it had to integrate its final design into the previously constructed basement footprint. Technical Director at RPS, Paul McGettigan explained, “All of the piles for the secant piled wall were already in place to form the basement perimeter along with the bearing piles within its footprint, so Sacyr had to build the structure on top of this. “We had regular meetings with the client’s design team in order to seamlessly integrate into the existing
“It took a huge resource to deliver in a relatively short time frame, but we are immensely proud of what has been achieved.” roof levels. This, in turn, is supported on a double-storey vierendeel girder which is completely hidden by the architecture. These are crucial structural design elements and we worked closely with Hassons, the fabricators to deliver them. Commenting on the completed project, Paul stated, “It took a huge resource to deliver in a relatively short time frame, but we are immensely proud of what has been achieved.”
package. It was very clear that we had to stay true to the client’s outline design as much as was possible.” The project was delivered as a BIM Level 2, although this hadn’t been a specific client requirement. “At first, this proved to be a challenge for many involved who were new to this sort of delivery. However, in hindsight, it was a great help. I don’t think the project delivery could have worked in any other way.” There are two major elements of the structure which are pivotal to how the whole architecture of the building works – the Warren truss and the Vierendeel girders. Paul said, “The warren truss is a massive structure, spanning 30m. It carries all of the structure up to the
Elmwood House, 74 Boucher Road, Belfast, BT12 6RZ T: +44 (0)28 9066 7914 www.rpsgroup.com
56 | NI BUILDER
FOLLOW US ON:
www.northernbuilder.co.uk
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online