KB2 provided Civil and Structural Engineering services for this six-storey residential development, situated in a prominent position adjacent to Wapping Wharf on the Bristol Harbourside.
The project presented several complex technical challenges. The constrained site, close proximity of existing neighbouring buildings to the east and west, and Cumberland Road highway to the south, necessitated a building design to suit a range of boundary conditions, all subject to stakeholder agreements.
The building superstructure is formed of a braced steel frame, built upon an upper ground-floor reinforced concrete transfer structure, in turn supported by reinforced concrete columns and pad foundations bearing on the underlying bedrock. A partial basement was created at lower ground floor level by lengths of embedded pile and reinforced concrete retaining walls to the southern and western site boundaries.
The below ground drainage design also formed a critical aspect of the project, with surface water from the site needing to be taken to the harbour. The final route threading below the historical railway line and around the Fairbairn Steam Crane (A Scheduled Ancient Monument) to the northeast.
Delivering this project required close collaboration with the Client, Design Team, Main Contractor, and Stakeholder Parties (including Bristol Highways, neighbouring property Party Wall Surveyors, the Bristol Harbour Authority, the Marine Management Organisation, The Environment Agency, and Heritage Railways) to coordinate complex build sequencing requirements, temporary works, and third party approval processes.
