Unsuccessful steel reuse case study
Key information
Project type:Â Commercial
Project summary: Anonymised example of unsuccessful steel reuse
Location:Â London
Project description
- The project involves the demolition of an existing building and the development of a new commercial building on the same site in London. The demolition works for this project have commenced.
- The possibility of reusing steel from the demolished building was considered but was rejected due to the steel being encased in concrete, and the building dating back to the 1950s, This means that it is unable to comply with the current SCI P427 Protocol for steel reuse.
Lessons learned, challenges and critical success factors
- This case study highlights a scenario where steel reuse was considered but not achieved. The original intention was to reclaim some steel from the existing building and demonstrate the benefits of steel reuse, even if it is not done for the whole building.
- The structural engineer conducted site visits and analysed what length of steels was available from the donor building and how to match these across the recipient building. However, no record information for the existing donor building was available.
- The biggest challenge was the fact that the steel was concrete encased and pre-1970s (a 1950s building). This would mean the additional inconvenience of having to clean off all the concrete, and the fact that it did not comply with the SCI P427 steel reuse protocol, which applies to buildings erected after the 1970s.
This case study was compiled as part of the DISRUPT project (Delivering Innovative Steel ReUse ProjecT).