Synopsis
The International Broadcast Centre (IBC) is a high profile prestigious project funded by public money in very challenging economic times. RPS was presented with a brief to deliver the design of the building to an accelerated programme, at the lowest possible cost, whilst containing flexible broadcasting space with legacy opportunities.
The IBC will accommodate the world's broadcasters for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The building was designed and constructed to maintain a flexible space that has the potential to be subdivided if required. The resultant design was to 'Secured by Design' standards and approved by the Commission for the Built Environment (CABE).
RPS (Newark office) provided architectural, civil and structural engineering design with supporting ecology services from its Cambridge office. The IBC is 275m long, 104m wide and 22m tall incorporating a 4500t steel super structure, which provides for an available area of 50 000m2 of studio and office space. It was erected in 10 weeks, and used circa 22 500t of concrete.
This paper outlines aspects of the structural engineering behind the IBC and particularly focuses on the key aspects of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) that were used for the project. Several design elements such as the main gravity and lateral loading resisting systems, floor system, as well as the fire design aspects are also briefly discussed. This paper discusses the structural challenges faced and the solutions that were adopted.