A challenging new car park development is being built on the site of the former Birmingham Mail & Post newspaper HQ.
Presenting a very different specification, the development in the heart of the city centre is no ordinary underground car park as the new structure is being built around the site’s original walls.
A project on this scale has meant that the formwork has had to be strategically placed to secure the perimeter of the development as work progresses.
Providing support for the construction of the six-storey underground car park, plus three floors above ground for mixed-use, PERI’s range of formwork and scaffolding has provided the key to ensuring safety, security and simplicity.
Specialist sub-contractor, McGee, approached PERI after being awarded the project in 2013. Seeking to address the many technical challenges that the B4 development presented, including tight working environments below ground, McGee required a multitude of different systems that would provide benefits including flexibility, ease of use and provide a cost-effective solution by saving time on site.
Martin Swift, Project Manager at McGee, explained, “The B4 development is a large-scale project that is a real rarity in terms of construction techniques. We are putting in a new building where the old Post & Mail four walls still stand. It will support not only a six-storey car park, but also, potentially, a 30-storey tower block in the future.
“PERI designed a site movement plan for the PERI MULTIPROP falsework system that would provide us with the means to work in a tight environment without having to waste valuable time and man power moving and reconstructing falsework.”
To combat the tight working conditions, PERI supplied its MULTIPROP table system, which was pre-fabricated off-site at their Rugby depot.
This meant the MULTIPROP tables were delivered to site ‘ready-to-use’.
In total 124 tables were fabricated off-site and easily moved from floor to floor using PD8 trolleys.
Martin added, “The MULTIPROP legs and frames were already in position when the ‘ready-to-use’ table tops were delivered to site. It has provided us with a huge advantage and has meant we can still achieve results within a restricted space.”
Working in conjunction with the MULTIPROP tables, PERI’s MULTIPROP platforms are being used to accommodate double and triple height falsework.
Matt Binder, Sales Engineer at PERI, said, “The Post and Mail project has presented an array of different technical difficulties due to its complex construction and limited working environment. PERI has been able to establish a strong working relationship, successfully overcome issues and help progress what will be an exciting new chapter at this iconic location.”
The B4 development is set to complete at the end of 2014.
