We provided a temporary roof scaffolding to the Upper Precinct shopping centre in Coventry. This is part of Coventry’s £11 million major redevelopment of the Upper Shopping Precinct as the city looks forward to celebrating it’s recent achievement of being awarded the UK’s City of Culture for 2021.
Background
After Coventry was heavily bombed during world war two, plans to redevelop parts of the city were drafted, including the introduction of a radical new two story shopping precinct, one of the first of it’s kind in Europe. These plans were put into fruition in the 1950’s when the shopping centre was finally completed.
Coventry City Council are now developing the shopping precinct and city centre as part of a multi-million pound regeneration scheme, including a £82 million new look station to help support an expected growth in passenger numbers.
Temporary Roof
Sky Scaffolding were contacted by Eurovia Contracting to provide a bespoke temporary roof solution to one of the walkways on the Upper Precinct shopping centre. This was required to allow the floor screed to be forcefully dried out using heaters in preparation for waterproofing and finishes to be applied, and minimise impact on programme throughout the winter months.
The scaffolding was erected using a monopitch Hakitec 750 roof system, supported on the balconies at the upper level, and on a Layher Allround independent at the lower level. The roof was tied around concrete columns on the balconies and tied to existing steel beams at floor level for support and stability. A Hakitec system was chosen as it is a robust and easily adaptable method of weather protection for covering large areas under construction.
Safety Considerations
The structure had to be erected while the footpaths below remained open as a main thoroughfare for pedestrians walking through the Upper Precinct. This required carefully crafted method statements, with marshals working below to cordon parts of the footpath off while work was being carried out overhead, while still allowing safe passage of pedestrians.
As the scaffolding was erected in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic during lockdown, our working procedures had to be modified to deal with the new risks we all now face, and to minimise the likelihood of spreading infection.
Sky Scaffolding have developed detailed Risk Assessments and Method Statements in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure the safety of our staff, their families, and third parties that we come in contact with on a day-to-day basis. Our Covid-19 RAMS have been developed in accordance with guidance from the NASC and Site Operating Procedures (SOP), produced by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC).
Similar Projects
Sky Scaffolding have a wealth of experience in providing temporary roof systems similar to the one at the Coventry Upper Precinct shopping centre, including a retractable temporary roof system for Porsche, Reading and at the prestigious Clayton Hotel in Birmingham City Centre as part of a two-story rooftop extension.
If you think that this or a similar solution may be suitable for a project you are working on and would like to discuss your requirements further, please call our Estimating Department on 01926 400 900.
