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FARADAY TOWER SOUTHAMPTON UNI
Built in the early 1960s to house Southampton University’s Faraday Tower is being demolished.
The tower holds all the challenges that Tilley and Barret thrive on; a complex demolition, located in the heart of a bustling university setting, with an opportunity for high levels of recycling and innovative techniques to minimise noise and vibration.
Our environmental team, along with the demolition engineers, are using the existing structure as a barrier and frame to build an innovative acoustic barrier that sits between the site and adjacent laboratories and lecture halls. These laboratories and lecture halls hold significant constraints on noise and vibration, with one of the main laboratories focusing on vibration transmission.
Client: Southampton University
Completion Date: 2024
The tower itself had fallen into disrepair and required to be made safe prior to any external works. To do this abseilers wrapped the complete tower in debris netting, protecting both university students and construction operatives from potential debris such as falling glazing or concrete effected by the elements, particularly the wind given its close locality to the coast.
The structure of the building is a 14-storey tower block counter levered from the 4th floor, so the demolition methodology had to be designed so once demolition commenced, the load was transferred through the structure and into the raft slab. This ensured stability at all times during demolition. With temporary works and scaffolding underway, and a 110-ton mobile crane dismantling the tower block, works progress well, and the project is due for completion in 2024.