CIVIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

A project of adjustment to the existing rear extension enclosure of this Victorian property in North London. The Clients desired to have as much light introduced into the property as possible and to that end a fully glazed corner frame was proposed. This necessitated structural alterations within the property. MSJ developed the design of the permanent structures as well as a fully detailed sequence of construction events and temporary propping for the construction works of primary structural elements of the build. The value of the work project was £0.3 million and the architect was Workshop Architects.

This project was a full refurbishment of the large semi detached property in Notting Hill W11, which included four stories of accommodation. Due to complete deterioration of existing internal structures, the entire building structure was recreated with steel framing. Externally, an extension was added to the lower ground floor. The end result was a truly beautiful residence. MSJ provided services of structural engineering design. The contract value was £1.5 million and the Architect was Gebler Tooth Associates.

This project featured a two storey garden studio and gym, as a part of a larger extension and alteration of a substantial Victorian property in Notting Hill. Due to proximity of trees, the basement portion of the studio was constructed using contiguous piles and the above ground structure was specified to have only one structural column. MSJ designed all permanent structures as well as a fully detailed sequence of construction events and temporary propping for the construction works of the build, including for a temporary ramped bridge which allowed the contractor to drive his excavators and piling rigs over the ground floor extension to the main house. The value of the garden studio part of the project alone was £0.6 million and the architect was Workshop Architects.

This project was a refurbishment of an existing three story commercial property in Kings Cross WC1. This included creation of an internal lift. As it happens the lift was to be placed at the most structurally crucial location. This resulted in a requirement that the existing principal structures were removed. MSJ were employed as a structural engineering consultant as well as the temporary works engineer. MSJ developed the design of the permanent structures as well as a fully detailed sequence of construction events and temporary propping for the construction works of primary structural elements of the build. The project value was £1.5 million in the Architect was Tim Bushey Associates.

A refurbishment of a six storey hotel in Soho, Central London. Part of the structural engineering task was a removal of great deal of existing internal loading structures at the two lowest levels. The structural solutions were developed around attempts to utilise whatever existing structures were found on the site; to that several very long existing steel beams which were to be relieved of their original columns, were plated with further structurally connected beams underneath, and another set of steel beams was topped with concrete flange converting those beams into composite structures and thus enhancing their strengths significantly. Furthermore, throughout the project large pockets of badly deteriorated brickwork were found, given to the property was over 100 years old and all the existing fireplaces and chimney floors having been utilised through the years. In the end, the project was a pleasing and successful hotel. MSJ provided services of structural engineering design. The project value was £2.7 million and Architect was Gebler Tooth Associates.

High Road House, a commercial project where a terrace of a mixture of commercial and residential properties were converted into a highly popular Brasserie, Member's Club, and a Hotel. The works included creation of basement and infilling the site with rear basement and ground floor extensions. Additionally a significant portion of principal structural elements at lower levels were to be removed, which was accommodated by means of creation of new permanent replacement structures in concrete and steel work framing. The project was a success and is still a frequently visited West London social hub. The contract value was £2.0 million and the Client was Soho House Group. MSJ provided structural engineering design.

Surbiton , Remodelling, Renovation and Roof extension MSJ provided a full architectural, structural and party wall service for the renovation and remodelling of the light industrial building. The property was fully refurbished and converted into a two separate commercial units. The intention was a preserve and enhance the historic character of the warehouse creating modern offices to rent. Currently MSJ are working on the proposal for planning submission for the roof extension and remodelling to create additional self contained residential apartment. MSJs proposals are including for MMB considerations and modular factory made sections of the new accommodation that will be assembled on site to minimise disruption of offices below.

Wapping High Street Wapping High Street project was a development and conversion of an old warehouse in Wapping, East London. As the works entered exploration stages, it was discovered that the existing foundations were wholly inadequate for the proposed reconfiguration. Due to the lack of external access for construction purposes, as well as extremely complex layering of the underlying foundation strata, the whole building was a resupported on piled reinforced concrete raft slab which had to be hit-and-miss toothed into the perimeter walls.  Piling works were economised by using varying diameter piles and various sleeving techniques which were required to accommodate the changing underlying soils. The superstructure was redeveloped in structural steel work. MSJ provided services of structural engineering design. The project value was £2 million and the Architect was Gebler Tooth Associates who also acted as a developer for the project.

Denmark Ave SW20 Denmark Avenue is a residential project on a hillside in Wimbledon SW 20. The Clients required that the property is thoroughly refurbished, and a part of the refurbishment was a creation of a basement under the entire building.  The basement then merged into the rear lower ground floor extension. MSJ provided services of structural engineering consultant and designed all structures in the project, including for a sequencing of works for the basement construction. The value of the project was £1.5 million the Architect was Stephen Fletcher Associates.

A small but sharply detailed scheme. The residents of the block of flats desired that some light as well as additional weather protection is introduced into the entrance foyer. This scheme provided for a neat and clear enclosure, principally in glass and steel, with a solid roof. The project value was £0.25 million and the Architect was SHH.

Wands Road SW8 Wandsworth Road development was a building project which converted a terrace of three houses spread over ground to second floor into five stories high building, with additional Basement and third floor, as well as an infill between this property and the adjoining one, thus resulting in a terrace of four buildings, containing a number of one, two and three bedroom flats. The ground conditions were extremely varied but comprised mainly of soft grounds in the upper layers, thus necessitating construction of foundations by means of piling and re-supporting the entire building on a new thick raft slab set upon the piles.  Due to the absence of any externally available room for construction purposes, the concrete raft slab foundation structure was hit and miss stitched into the principal perimeter and internal load bearing walls. The upper levels were constructed with steel framing including for concrete and timber floors. The project value was £2 million and the developer was Laurence Fawcett Group.

Ark Venue Enfield Arc Venue in Enfield is a steel framed restaurant and entertainment venue. The foundations to the steel frame were a rigid ground bearing raft slab bearing on soils that were improved with of vibrofloatation, a specialist ground improvement method.  The excitement was added to the construction process when the vibroflotation contractor tried to cut corners and after treating only the thin top layer of the soils rather than full depth, departed from the building site. After some persuasion, the vibro contractor returned to do the work properly. The developer was MG developments and value of the project was £800,000. The property is now a successful wedding and general social gatherings venue.

Times Sq Sutton Times Square Sutton is a nine storey commercial use building, a RC structure with six storeys above ground and three stories of basement. The accommodation included offices, shopping centre and other commercial content. As a part of refurbishment, it was required that some reinforced concrete stability walls were removed in the lowest level of basement.  A couple of those were replaced with double steel frames and one was accommodated by means of stitching new steel bars reinforcement into the existing reinforced concrete walls and re-casting to new layout. Due to the overall sensitivity of the scheme, MSJ were asked to deliver not only just the permanent structures design, but also a temporary design for all structural works. The project was completed successfully in due course. MSJ clients were specialist Civil Works contractor, Eless Limited and the contract value was £1 million.

Woodhouse Boutique in Acre Road in Covent Garden was a small commercial fit out, and MSJ were commissioned to provide structure engineering design, to suit the architect's sharp detailing. Great use of was made of some of the underlying basement walls, so that none of the new structures had to bear into any of the party walls, thus simplified and accelerating the building process greatly. The architect was Noble Associates and the contract value was £300,000.

Arthur Road project in Wimbledon comprised a demolition of an existing building and replacement with a pair of semi detached family homes. Due to the proximity of a number of neighbouring properties, as well as some mature vegetation, the basements were constructed with contiguous piling, and the upper levels with simple steel framing with steel shuttering concrete floors and timber floors. MSJ were commissioned to provide structural engineering design. Project value was £900,000 and the developer was Rance Group.

Bentley pool was a small residential configuration of external spaces, which needed careful treating because of the shallow foundations to the existing historic property as well as proximity of a pool. MSJ were commissioned to provide structural engineering specifications for new hard standings and abutments. The value of the contract was £200,000 and the architect was Workshop Architects.

Knight Hill was a conversion of a veterinary clinic and some accommodation at upper levels into a block of flats which included extension into the basement. The building structure was reconstructed throughout the building using steel framing and timber floors, with RC underpinning creating the basement. The value of the project was £1.3 million and the developer was Haywood Group.

Lady Dell project was a residential new build replacing a historic farm. The ground conditions dictated that the foundations be piled. Some basement accommodation was also incorporated, a small basement of three meter depth and the larger basement of five meter depth. The five meter deep basement also had to accommodate a two story coach house to be built on top of it. The superstructure was generally framed in traditional steel work and a mixture of beam+block and timber floors, incorporating some intricate detailing around large scale feature windows. MSJ were commissioned to provide structural engineering design. The project value was £2 million, and the architect was Studio Lutra.

Lexham Mews was a redevelopment and expansion of a terraced property in West London, where a new basement and new second floor accommodation were created. The basement was created by means of traditional hit and miss RC underpinning, and upper levels as a mixture of steel framing and steel shutter concrete and timber floor structures. The client wanted to proceed with the structural works well in advance of any party wall awards being in place, and to that end MSJ developed a specially tailored temporary works and sequence of events specification. This included for MSJ's own specially designed beam end bearing brackets which allowed for the entire super structure to be constructed whilst being held on temporary props but not bearing into party walls. Only upon publication of the PW awards, the end brackets were installed and structural beams loaded into the party walls. Whilst the upper level of the project were undergoing installation of services and gearing to completion, the basement was being excavated and concreted and in the end, the product was a very pleasing private residence. The project value was £1.7 million in the architect was Thomas Ruddy architects.