State-of-the-art roof installation at Bolton Interchange

State-of-the-art roof installation at Bolton Interchange

Novum partnered with Keir Construction for the design, manufacture, supply, and installation of the roof structure, including steelwork and ETFE pillows, for the new transport hub located in the centre of Bolton, Manchester.

Novum was instrumental from the early stages of design, with a coordinated approach to developing the design of the roof structure and the interface with the other elements of the project. Novum’s 3D modelling offered a representative view of the construction information for buildability checks and coordination between all subcontractor’s work elements.

The central location presented its own challenges; restrictions on delivery times and the requirement for all deliveries to be pre-booked and coordinated to avoid any potential congestion within the town centre and approach roads. All vehicles delivering to the site followed a one-way route for entry and exit of the town which needed to be enforced throughout the Novum supply chain. The site was also bound by live railway lines and an existing bus station which offered more challenges for the construction team. Restrictions on cranes had to be considered during the sequencing and planning for the build in order to avoid disturbance to the existing train lines. The sensitive working location presented its fair share of challenges but none that the Novum team were not able to overcome.

The steelwork for the roof structure was designed, detailed, and fabricated in sections to accommodate the transport restrictions. Members were suitably sized for delivery and installation. Bespoke cradles were also designed and fabricated to allow the long rafter sections to be lifted, laid out, assembled, and spliced together prior to installation at roof level.

Loading restrictions to the perimeter of the ETFE roof needed to be considered during the analysis and design of the ETFE steelwork. A central support was needed to offer additional support and reduce loading to the perimeters. The central support was designed as a tree column structure with support branches connected to some of the tubular rafters. Support for the ETFE pillows came from tubular rafters of various lengths from a combination of the perimeter primary steelwork and the central column. Additional branches were then added to offer a more ‘tree like’ appearance.

The fast-paced installation programme was phased to accommodate for interfacing trades. To assist with this, a mobile self-erecting crane was utilised for installation of the steelwork, offering faster rigging times, greater radius, slew restrictions to avoid clashes with the railway lines and increased productivity during lifting. The operator had full sight of lifting operations from his elevated position. The installation was sequenced for the stability of the structure and perimeter supporting steelwork.

For the ETFE pillow installation work positioning netting was utilised to offer greater flexibility during installation and to reduce requirements for access plant or scaffolding. Installation technicians were fast and efficient with the installation of the ETFE pillows and ensured the air machine was correctly located and fully operational for the handover of the completed roof. The ETFE was produced by our membranes factory in Germany and was chosen for its many benefits, including helping to lower the project costs.

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Novum Structures

Novum Structures

Novum Structures is an international leader in the design, engineering, production and installation of technically advanced architectural structures and integrated cladding, with over 20 years of experience worldwide . Comprehensive client...
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