All articles published in the December 2015 issue.
Publish Date – 1 December 2015
Alfriston School is a secondary day and boarding school for girls in Buckinghamshire, UK. The project involved the construction of a new 750m2 swimming pool and sports department. The building has a floating timber roof, which houses a four-lane swimming pool and changing areas.
The structural challenges included realising the complex geometries in the roof while maintaining an open soffit. A system of panels was developed using cross-laminated timber boarding fixed to glued laminated beams. The roof panels act as the structural elements spanning the swimming pool and provide stability.
Small-diameter steel columns were designed to act as cantilevers from the reinforced-concrete retaining walls, transferring the vertical and horizontal loads from the roof structure. This method eliminates any cross-bracing and minimises the visual structure, giving the appearance of a floating roof.
This month’s article from Griffiths & Armour considers the potential pitfalls of novation agreements and offers advice on how to avoid or mitigate these.
Sean Brady explores the wider societal ramifications of devastating structural failures.
Chartered Safety & Health Practitioner Louise Hosking offers advice on managing some of the challenges posed by the new CDM regulations.
In this article, we summarise the latest CROSS newsletter from Structural-Safety.
Working at height is always hazardous. When very tall buildings are being designed, constructed or modified, a number of standard hazards become exaggerated and require special attention.
This articles examines the use of glued-in rods for timber connections and the context of their usage in the UK.
Timber and stone are the oldest known building materials. Our most ancient buildings are characterised by their use. So it is no surprise that an engineer looking after historic fabric will regularly encounter the need to repair timberwork.
In this new section of The Structural Engineer, we shine a spotlight on papers recently published in Structures – the Research Journal of The Institution of Structural Engineers. Structures is a collaboration between the Institution and Elsevier, publishing internationally-leading research across the full breadth of structural engineering which will benefit from wide readership by academics and practitioners. Access to Structures is free to all during 2015. From 2016, Institution members will continue to receive free access as one of their membership benefits. The journal is available online at: www.elsevier.com/locate/structures
After 16 years in the Army, Major Nick Francis is making the move into civilian engineering. What have been the highlights of his career so far and what has he learned in the military that will help his new employer? Jackie Whitelaw reports.
Tianjian Ji welcomes this short introduction to structural engineering, which goes some way to addressing the lack of books on engineering for the general reader
This thoroughly researched book will appeal to doctorate-level academics and specialist consultants working on long-span cable-supported bridges, believes Matthew Myerscough.
Letters this month focus on CE marking, particularly CE marking of steel and whether it is possible to CE mark a swing bridge.