Abbey Pynford - Office Concept
PROJECT DETAILS
Project - Office Concept - A New Approach To Foundations
Project Address - Colchester, Essex
Contractors - Rose Builders
Clients - Evolve Studio, a Galliard Company
Value - £130,000
Site size - 90 units / 1404m2
Duration - 2 weeks
This office development in Essex is the first of Evolve's workspace concept and the debut of the ground engineering specialists Abbey Pynford's new foundation system for modular construction.
These 90 steel frame units are situated on a flood plain, requiring the site levels needed to be raised by 1.1m. Screw piles were originally specified however, due to the lateral loads and tight tolerances required, an alternative piled scheme was needed.
A New Approach To Foundations
A common approach to these site challenges is opting for a Pile and Beam scheme, topped with plinths to install the units on. However, on a site as wet as this, excavation for beams would have been very challenging, messy and time-consuming. Instead, Abbey Pynford proposed their new capped mono-pile system, Quickcaps.
Unique to Abbey Pynford, their mono-pile system is cast in one pour, using pile cap formwork. Instead of the standard process of forming the cap after the pile has cured days later, the cap is poured while the pile is still wet. Not only saving days off the programme but this system also was installed on a 50mm Concrete Working Surface (CWS), avoiding excavation and installation piling mats.
Tolerances
Due to the high tolerances required for this project, which were not achievable in the original scheme, this approach to the foundations was key as they were installed within +-25mm (plan) and +-15mm (elevation) tolerances.
Sustainability
Using Quickcaps helped reduce the carbon footprint of this project by reducing the plant and material requirements of the foundations. The primary material and emissions savings came from the minimal excavation and spoil removal (as piling mats and ground beams were not required) and the reduced concrete quantities, as caps replaced the need for beams.
By avoiding traditional piled systems (such as Pile and Beam), the groundworks programme and costs were reduced significantly, avoiding the extensive excavation, spoil removal and beam installation and replacing it with a rationalised scheme. The installation took two weeks, saving five weeks on the original build programme, an estimated 50% faster than a pile and beam scheme and days faster than other mono-pile schemes.Resulting in a happy client and successful project:
"Abbey Pynford's system worked brilliantly for this project. They were quick, tidy and reduced our programme."
John McVelia, Commercial Manager, Rose Builders
• Website address or email address which people can use for more information:
o info@abbeypynford.co.uk
o Projects info: https://www.abbeypynford.co.uk/case-studies/evolve-studios/
o System info: https://www.abbeypynford.co.uk/products/quickcaps/
