At the crossroads of London’s bustling West End and thriving museum district, a new development is taking place at 247 Tottenham Court Road.

The 88,000 sq ft mixed use development will deliver flexible retail space for local businesses, Grade A office accommodation and eight premium residential units to locals, workers and visitors alike. Along with Stiff & Trevillion Architects, Civic Engineers is providing key support for the structural design and detailing of the superstructure frame, on behalf of M&G Real Estate.

Construction, to be completed by the end of 2024, is aiming for a minimum target rating of BREEAM Outstanding and 5 Star Design for Performance NABERS rating. The superstructure is a hybrid steel and precast concrete frame comprising precast twin-walls, columns (connected via piekko column shoes), hollowcore slabs, lintels and piekko deltabeams that use 90% recycled steelwork. To further reduce the embodied carbon of the structural frame, we have replaced the traditional mesh reinforcement in the upper floor slabs with basalt fibre reinforcement, which consumes up to 62% less CO2e than steel during its manufacture.

Civic Engineers’ team is also responsible for the design and detailing of all precast concrete elements as well as conducting the necessary stability assessments.

Working closely with the frame contractor, PCE, Civic Engineers is acting as the main frame temporary works engineer — involving conducting the temporary works design and detailing of propping supporting twin wall panels, steel brackets, panel lifters and temporary concrete bases to ensure a safe and efficient erection sequence to maintain a rapid construction programme.  The small and confined nature of the site provided significant challenges in terms of buildability, site logistics and structural interfaces with adjacent buildings, therefore the MMC frame solution was key in overcoming significant logistical and design challenges.

Our director James Bruce said: “It has been really rewarding to deliver superstructure work to set this new development up for success and offer a new focal point for the many people that pass through Tottenham Court Road each day. The area, historically known for its flagship white goods shops, is increasingly becoming a more generalist business and entertainment district, and this development aims to respond to these changes.”