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 photo: Ramboll UK
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Paddington Central building 5Kingdom Avenue, London W2As part of the broader redevelopment of the Paddington basin, we are working on this twelve storey hotel adjacent to the train station. A Crossrail tunnel is planned to run directly beneath the site — however, its precise location is still to be determined. Our challenge was to devise a foundation that could accommodate Crossrail construction in any location. Key to the design is a massive transfer structure that forms a table eight metres above ground. A coordinated grid supports building load above while allowing for future rail construction underneath. Supported on piles inserted outside the tunnel exclusion zone, the transfer grid effectively creates a false ground level eight feet in the air. A fully glazed lobby occupies the ground floor. A second transfer structure — comprised of steel raking columns — distributes twelve stories of building load evenly across the first transfer grid. |
