Brighton Steel Construction Projects
Steep, confined streets. Salt air and sea winds. A skyline full of Regency-era buildings that can't be knocked down…There are many unique challenges to building in Brighton, but the flexibility of steel can often enable builders to overcome them.
Here, we demonstrate the benefits of this material by taking a look at four of the most challenging Brighton steel construction projects.
American Express Community Stadium, Falmer
When Brighton & Hove Albion finally got the green light for a permanent home, the site was next to the rolling green hills of the South Downs, a landscape that planners were determined not to disrupt.
The solution was a 4,200-tonne steelwork package topped by a spectacular flat arched roof designed specifically to echo the undulating chalk hills around it.
Seven-tonne cast steel bearings resist a thrust of 2,000 tonnes at either end of the main trusses, holding the arches in place above the main stands. Various holdups meant that the project took 14 years to reach completion.
Battling the Wind in a Brighton City Centre Scheme
Builders faced a different problem on this retail and apartment scheme in Brighton city centre. Its proximity to the sea raised concerns that high winds could disrupt steel erection.
The contractor switched from a traditional tower crane to mobile cranes to keep the 400-tonne-plus steel frame moving safely. Steel's flexibility was also important to serve the architect's two-dimensional curved geometry, something a concrete frame would have struggled to deliver on such a tight footprint.
University of Brighton Multi-Storey Car Park
As part of the University of Brighton’s ‘Big Build’ expansion, a new six-storey, 550-space car park had to be squeezed onto a tight plot. The contractor opted for a steel-framed Vertical Circulation Module design, using over 700 tonnes of steel, with stability provided entirely by braced bays
It is a solution that the design team came up with to successfully develop the type of confined city plots which are common in Brighton. The need for a rapid speed of construction was one of the key reasons for choosing a steel frame design with metal decked flooring.
Engineer Enrico Tomasi explained, “This solution also provided us with a lightweight structure that required less foundation work.”
Brighton Dome and Museum
Our final project, and the most delicate, answers the question: how do you overhaul a 200-year-old Regency building without destroying what makes it worth saving?
When the Brighton Dome and Museum needed renewal, engineers used steel-framed temporary works to support the existing timber dome and its 1930s roof trusses, then jacked the loads across onto a new permanent steel frame, much of it manhandled into the building and erected from inside.
Around 500 tonnes of temporary and permanent steelwork went in over 22 months, including re-fabricated steel from dismantled and temporary work.
The project was commended at the 2003 Structural Steel Design Awards, and steel has been used again since then at the site. A 2023 refurbishment of Brighton Dome Corn Exchange used discreet steel ties to strengthen the roof without hiding its historic frame.
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