9-11 Richmond Buildings

This new 6 storey office building in the heart of Soho replaced an existing disused 5 storey building to become the new head office of a high end boutique hotel company. The exisiting half basement was also deepened to a full depth basement.

The challenges of the project were working on a confined site and the 4m cantilever over the road from second floor up. The road had to remain open during the construction period which meant that the temporary works had to support the propping of all 4 levels above the road. Upon completion, the basement was used as site accommodation to maximise the use of space on site.

The structual frame was made up of steel and in-situ concrete above a reinforced concrete basement box. The requirement for the crane counterbalance not to oversail the adjacent properties meant that we were limited in the construction form we could use. It was decided to use a steel frame above acting compositely with vaulted concrete floors supported on pre-cambered Deltabeams. The concrete core to the rear and the moment frame to the front act as the stability elements for the building. 

A high quality finish was required for the exposed soffit of the vaulted floors. This was achieved using GRP formers whcih were re-used at each floor to save materials and costs. This innovative use of concrete led to the project being shortlisted for the 2022 Concrete Society Awards with the judges noting that the use of the vaults and the way they were formed created a unique office space.

Images courtesy of Duffy Construction