May 1st, 2014
Steel sections profiled by Barnshaws Metal Bending’s structural branch are to be incorporated in 15 curved steel ribs on an ultra-modern new roof, as part of the £44million redevelopment of Manchester’s Grade II-listed Victoria Station for Network Rail.
The new £16million roof structure has been designed to allow natural daylight to flood the station. The 1.2m deep and 500mm wide ribs have been curved by Barnshaws to multiple radii over the length. They are currently being fabricated by Bolton-based Severfield-Watson Structures Ltd in welded box sections up to 24m long.
Once on site, the sections will be welded together to form single ribs up to 96m long, before being lifted into position by a 750 tonner crawler crane. Each rib will be lifted as a single piece and almost simultaneously connected at buttresses and columns.
A key design focus has been to achieve as lightweight a roof structure as possible, without compromising its strength. Steel was therefore selected ahead of heavier options, such as timber. Additionally, the use of lightweight, transparent and self-cleaning ETFE cladding has enabled the steel ribs to span further than if glazing had been specified.
Commenting on Barnshaws’ involvement, Gary Dooley, Project Manager for Severfield-Watson Structures Ltd said: “We have worked with Barnshaws on many previous projects and the fact that they also have a factory in Manchester made our decision very easy.”
The project is due to complete in early 2015.
