Mersey Street, Belfast
This social housing development consists of 88 new dwellings including apartments, 2- & 3-storey dwellings and wheelchair-user bungalows.
Being a brownfield site and considering the nature of the infill material used in the previous development it was expected that contamination would be encountered during construction. This was confirmed by testing and an appropriate remediation strategy was developed and included within the construction programme.
All units are founded on pre-cast driven piles with reinforced concrete pilecaps and ground-beams. Ground floor is constructed using pre-cast concrete floor units.
A 5m high brick boundary wall was designed to reduce noise pollution and vibrations from the adjacent railway line and Sydenham Bypass. This required complex structural design for piled support onto the poor ground below to prevent overturning. Raking piles were used supported on reinforced concrete ground beams and pile caps; reinforced concrete piers were included in the superstructure. Movement joints required particular consideration using dowelled horizontal connections.
This scheme achieved an Eco Homes Very Good rating.
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