Structural steelwork was used to sustain and modernize this 200 year old, prestigious building which has internal and external Grade II listings, both for its Indian Style exterior and its 1930s Art Deco Interior.
The project involved the removal of two proscenium columns, which had been added in an earlier refurbishment in the 1930s. The new work involved a temporary steel frame to support the existing timber Dome and 1930s trusses, then transferring the loads by jacking onto the new steel frame. All the temporary steelwork had to be manhandled into the existing buildings and then erected from inside.
Pre-loading of the new elements and jacking of the existing structure prevented excessive deflections. Other alterations, such as forming openings in walls were dealt with by maintaining existing load paths and spreading stress concentrations through box frames or spreader beams to ensure that the overall load distribution was not significantly altered. Parts of the steelwork that had been dismantled, together with some of the temporary support steelwork, were re-fabricated and incorporated into the new permanent works.
This project received a commendation at the Structural Steel Design Awards.