Case Study - Recovering Steel for Reuse at 180 Piccadilly

Project summary

The project involved demolishing two adjoining buildings 180 Piccadilly Street and 50 Jermyn Street, part of Great Portland Estates’ (GPE) Piccadilly Estate. One of the buildings, French Railways House (180 Piccadilly Street), is a 1960s modernist landmark that previously served as the headquarters of SNCF.

The site will be redeveloped to create a new 6-storey building comprising a basement, eight upper storeys and a rooftop plant enclosure for office use, along with two ground floor units for retail, restaurant, café, or gym use, providing 6,300 m² (up from 5,000 m²) of new space.

The original building, a concrete 6-storey structure, contained 16 tonnes of steel beams, of which around 8 tonnes will be reused for temporary works.  The new building will also incorporate reclaimed steel from the developer’s other demolished project at 2 Aldermanbury Square.

Project information

Project name

180 Piccadilly

Location

London

Project type 

Demolition, with upcoming redevelopment

Demolition approach

Cutting steel sections at ends and lifting them via tower crane

Amount of steel recovered for reuse

8 tonnes

Demolition programme timeline

June 2024-October 2024

Gross internal area (new development)

Refurbishment – 6,300 m² (up from 5,000 m²)

Sector (new development)

Office and retail

Client

Great Portland Estate (GPE) – Encouraged steel reuse as part of their sustainability goals

Structural Engineer

Elliott Wood – Conducted pre-demolition survey and designed the new building incorporating reused steel

ContractorMACE – Manages the construction of a new building with steel reuse
Demolition and Civils Contractor

John F Hunt – recovered steel for reuse

Steel Stockholder

EMR –  Conducts initial reprocessing of reclaimed steel and manages testing

Steel Reuse in Detail

Steel sections

1960s steel beams. Grade to be confirmed once testing is complete. Steel beams are vermiculate encased for fire protection, which will be shot blasted by EMR as part of the reprocessing of steel. 

Key Drivers for Recovering Steel for Reuse

Sustainability Goals: GPE is committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their developments by recovering and reusing steel within their own portfolio.

Stakeholder Support: Steel reuse was driven and supported by experienced stakeholders in steel reuse

Demolition and Steel Recovery Approach

Prior to the demolition, Elliott Wood conducted a pre-demolition survey to identify which steel sections were suitable for reuse and their quantities.

The steel was diagonally cut at the ends using oxy gas and lifted with a tower crane. Each steel beam took approximately 14 minutes to recover: 10 minutes for cutting and 4 minutes for craning. If the steel had been sent for recycling, it would have taken around 10 minutes to recover each beam. Therefore, the additional 4 minutes is not a very significant uplift.

The steel was diagonally cut at the ends using oxy gas and lifted with a tower crane. Each steel beam took approximately 14 minutes to recover: 10 minutes for cutting and 4 minutes for craning. Salvaged steel was moved to the lower level for temporary storage, and once enough steel was accumulated, it was loaded down onto lorries and transported to EMR’s site for reprocessing.

Impact on Demolition Programme and Costs

Recovering steel for reuse had minimal impact on the demolition programme and associated costs due to the demolition contractor’s experience in reuse.

Under the business-as-usual scenario without reuse, the demolition/deconstruction approach would have been very similar. The project is in an urban environment where the use of cranes is require regardless. The primary difference was the additional care taken when recovering steel. This included taking extra caution while using concrete crackers above the steel beams to avoid damaging the steel and carefully lifting and lowering each steel beam to prevent damage.

Additionally, the project site had sufficient space to store the recovered steel on site before transport, which further facilitated the reuse process.

Furthermore, John F Hunt’s team included a dedicated role  responsible for finding customers for recovered items, which helped to streamline the process of reuse.

Additional Recovered Materials

In addition to steel, approximately 1,800 items from the interior were salvaged, including wood, bricks, furniture, radiators, windows, glass partitions, decorations, storage tubs, electronics, textiles, aluminium, ceramics, paints and adhesives, and a boiler. These items were donated to organisations such as Hackney City Farm, M01Youths, D.R.C.A. Community Association, and other local organisations, artists, and community groups, providing significant value to the community. The estimated savings from reusing these items in new projects are around £26,000.

Management Aspects of Steel Reuse

The details of recovering steel for reuse were discussed in the meetings between the demolition contractor and the client. The client sought the demolition contractor’s opinion on the feasibility of recovering various items for reuse, and the contractor shared their insights. For example, reusing the façade was discussed but ultimately deemed not cost-effective.

Specific targets for steel reuse were set in the contracts, based on the pre-demolition audit. The contract specified the targeted tonnes of steel to be recovered for reuse.

Material passports will be developed for the recovered steel sections in the new building. This will be conducted based on a guidance in collaboration with the University of Lancaster and Orms.

Challenges of Steel Reuse

The demolition contractor highlighted general challenges such as changing the industry’s mindset towards reuse and concerns about the impact on demolition programs and costs. In this case study, these challenges did not pose a major issue due to the demolition contractor’s previous experience with steel reuse. Additionally, this case serves as an example where recovering steel for reuse had a minimal impact on the demolition program.

In terms of practical considerations, a major concern for London projects—where space is at a premium—is the availability of on-site space for the temporary storage of reclaimed material. In this project, sufficient space was available to store the recovered steel on-site.

Furthermore, common challenges include the additional labour required for recovering steel, such as hot-cutting steel sections, the time needed to load the reclaimed material onto lorries for transport, and coordination aspects—specifically the arrangement of procurement, selling, or giving away reclaimed materials. However, in this project, having a dedicated person responsible for procurement helped to maximise reuse efforts.

Steel Recovery Image Series

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