Bourne Group was one of the first TOP10 UK Steel contractors to implement IDEA StatiCa back in 2016, and since then they have been using it successfully in many high-profile projects. One of the latest is The Marshall Building, an iconic structure at the London School of Economics.
The Marshall Building
Offering approximately 18,100m2 of space, the Marshall Building is the latest project in the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) campus-wide redevelopment programme. With main contractor Mace – the international consultancy and construction company – leading the delivery, the new flagship building will have ten upper floors and two basement levels, and will contain The Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship, founded by Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett and Sir Paul Marshall to improve the impact, effectiveness and appeal of private contributions to the public good.
Overall the Marshall Building is a concrete-framed structure, but within its frame, there are several integral steelwork elements, that have been introduced to provide the necessary structural capacity, achieve the desired architectural vision as well as maintain slimmer structural profiles.
Moreover, all of the steelwork will be hidden from view within the completed building, as it will all be encased in concrete to blend in with the adjacent structures. However, two of the most noticeable elements formed with steelwork are two tree-like structures, that help to create open-plan areas and evenly transfer substantial loads to the foundations.
Steel was used for the trees as the four branches collectively support approximately 3,500t, which was not feasible in concrete given the structural zones available. Steel was also chosen as the most suitable form of construction due to the concentration of load effect from raking columns.
Additionally, The Marshall Building is due to be completed in time for the start of the Autumn 2021 term.
The design team of Bourne Group created models in Statica to design the connections for all the steel branches that make up the trees, applying the loads at each of the individual coupler locations.
This gave a good representation of how the nodes were behaving under the complex loading that they were subjected to. Furthermore, due to the unique structure of the nodes, determining a fabrication sequence that would allow adequate access to all of the welds was indeed a challenge.
IDEA Statica allowed the team to visually identify the peak stresses going through the material and individually size each element and its weld that made up the nodes
Results
Finally, utilising IDEA Statica to analyse these connections, allowed 16 separate load combinations to be applied to the joint, saving time by automatically calculating the worst-case stresses through the nodes. Due to the complexity of some of the plate geometry, they were drawn in 2D in CAD to be directly imported into the Static models as a profile and given a thickness.
More info on The Marschall Building:
| Architect | Grafton Architects |
| Structural Engineer | AKT II |
| Steelwork Contractor | Bourne Steel |
| Main Contractor | Mace |
| Main Client | London School of Economics |
About the author:
Mark Hill has worked for The Bourne Group for 13 years, joining straight from University on Bourne’s graduate training programme. He is now Associate Director for the Bourne Engineering department and manage the structural design on various projects.
About The Bourne Group:
The Bourne Group, formed in 1946, are one of the UK’s leading specialists in the supply, fabrication and installation of structural steelwork projects to a broad range of market sectors, including Aviation, Commercial, Infrastructure, Power & Energy and complex refurbishment projects. With a Group turnover of over £70m, the Bourne Group are one of the largest structural steelwork specialists in the UK, by revenue, remain privately owned and manage and employ over 200 construction professionals nationally.
More at: www.bournegroup.eu
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