Situated on the Thames River with views to the South Bank, Millennium Bridge House is a commercial refurbishment which draws upon its location’s rich context. With sensitivity in mind, the scope of the project was to reuse the building’s existing structure and floor plates, with reconfiguration to the internal layout and façade.
Working on behalf of main contractor ISG, Bourne Steel fabricated, supplied and erected 700t of steel for the project. The most visually pleasing steelwork element of the project is the new southern façade of the building, most of which overlooks the Thames. Here, the majority of the original structure has been stripped back to the area that spans the tunnels, with a new frame erected. L-shaped steel columns form a sheltered overhang along the riverside walkway while supporting the building above. These exposed columns are painted dark red in keeping with the area’s industrial heritage and the cranes that once adorned this part of the riverbank.
The rooftop is another interface where Bourne Steel has installed a significant amount of steelwork. Bolted to the structure’s roof, a steel grillage formed with fabricated beams, covering almost half of the roof’s footprint, supports a restaurant pavilion. A series of 2.5m high CHS columns form the frame of the pavilion which supports a timber glulam roof and CLT structure, providing a lightweight solution that does not overload the existing columns below.
Bourne Steel’s third steelwork element is a hung external feature lift shaft to the northern elevation, providing direct public access to the rooftop amenities. With space for material storage at a premium around the project’s perimeter, the lift shaft steelwork was initially delivered to the roof of the building and then erected with the tower crane. Offering beauty and strength, Millennium Bridge House prioritises high levels of sustainability and is respectful of the dockside heritage of the River Thames and the Baroque architectural context of nearby St Paul’s.