Location
Doncaster
Client
Wilmott Dixon
Architect
Bond Bryan
Completion
September 2019
Project Summary & Objective
The Wool Market has been redeveloped to create a thriving hub for Doncaster’s local community and businesses. Working together with Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Willmott Dixon and Bond Bryan Architects, Apex Consulting were appointed to deliver civil and structural services on the £3m refurbishment of the historical Doncaster Wool Market.
The objective of the project was to transform the existing Grade II-listed Victorian building into a vibrant and bustling location all week long, as well as being a place to host events.
Key Challenges
“he frame of the covered marketplace was constructed from historic iron beams and cast columns; the trusses were also constructed from light steel angles and tension wires. An assessment of the frame was required to understand its loading capabilities as new ductwork and lighting was proposed to be supported from this.
The ground conditions were difficult to investigate due to the marketplace being operational during this phase of the works. During the lifetime of the structure, there appeared to have been many alterations to the frame and external façade. This resulted in a variety of ground solutions that had been constructed, particularly around the perimeter of the building.
The new car park also posed design opportunities to provide value, following the ground investigation determining that there were hot spot of contamination across the site.
Solution
At Apex, we worked in close partnership with the main contractor to determine the least disruptive works for the ground investigations and the locations were limited to provide the best level of detail.
The car park levels were redesigned to enable the levels to be lifted as high as possible ensuring the least amount of bulk excavation was removed from site and also enabled the reuse of the existing sub-base.