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 photo: Dennis Gilbert / VIEW
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Formby PoolBrows Lane, Formby, Merseyside, UKWe worked on this project to build a new single storey timber frame public swimming hall on a site with a high water table in Formby. The client was keen to produce a low maintenance building using sustainable construction techniques. We worked closely with the architects on the timber frame design, which used lumber sourced from a managed forestry scheme. Helical displacement piles were used to strengthen the sandy ground and interlocked sheet piling was used around the site perimeter to create a coffer dam. A de-watering system lowered the water table while the concrete foundation slab was laid. Treated with caltight, the slab was heavily reinforced to resist the buoyancy force of the water table. The pool hall roof — a twisted plane — posed some engineering challenges. An asymmetrically curved surface was created using Kerto elements supported on bow string trusses with 1200 centres. The bow strings were supported by steel trusses, heavily galvanized to resist damp. The picture shows a roof assembly test in progress. Civic Trust Award commendation 2008 RIBA Award national and regional 2007 Wood Award Gold Award and winner Commercial & Public Access Building 2007 |
