KEY PERSONNEL:
PROJECT CHALLENGES:
Liaison with cultural and building regulation authorities; reinforcing structures on steep site; levels
New cultural centre with theatre auditorium, back of house area, administration block, retail units, tower and approach plaza
A seven-storey reinforced concrete and steel frame building with pile and pad foundations. The building comprises five sections, each designed separately to allow maximum flexibility in selecting the type of structure.
Block A – Back of House: reinforced concrete frame and slabs with steel framed roof
Block B – Fly Tower: steel frame on top of reinforced concrete basement; floors constructed of timber and concrete
Block C – Auditorium and Millennium Square: reinforced concrete frame with steel trussed roof supporting heavy services
Block D – Retail Area: steel frame with precast concrete slabs
Block E – Administration Block: elliptical shape RC frame with a 3D curved steel roof frame.
The site is constricted by the historic wall of Derry and contains an underground tunnel, which required an archaeological investigation to be incorporated with the enabling works. The ground conditions, sloping nature of the location dictate the use of bored piles required for part of the site, and pad foundations for the rest. Retaining walls were required on various levels as the building moulded into the hillside.
General stability was achieved by using reinforced concrete walls.
