O2 Academy, Leeds

Façade Shoring with Restricted Street Clearance

DH Scaffold Services Ltd was appointed to design a shoring scaffold after outward movement was identified in the O2 Academy’s façade. The temporary arrangement was intended to restrain further movement while the structural engineer developed details for permanent restraints.

The challenge

The shoring scaffold needed to provide restraint within a restricted footprint. A maximum projection from the façade was specified to maintain clearance for buses travelling along the adjacent road, limiting the space available for the supporting arrangement.

Water-filled IBC tanks provided ballast. Their weight introduced substantial vertical loads, requiring a support arrangement capable of carrying the tanks and transferring their loads through the scaffold.

Our design response

DH Scaffold Services Ltd developed a ballasted shoring scaffold within the permitted projection from the building. Short ladder beams supported the IBC tanks, with ladder beams also incorporated as vertical uprights and horizontal ledgers to accommodate the loading requirements.

The design brought together the façade restraint, ballast support and street-clearance requirements in a single temporary arrangement. Its role was to provide interim support while the structural engineer developed the permanent restraint solution.

The project demonstrates our experience of designing temporary shoring where structural requirements must be accommodated alongside restricted space and continued use of neighbouring transport routes.