Student Accommodation, Fitzalan Court Cardiff

The project consists of the extension and development of four existing concrete frame buildings into a group of modern student accommodation buildings containing 357 beds. The development is located adjacent to Cardiff’s Newport Road, one of the busier roads within the Cardiff highway network.

The proposed development consists of a series of one and two story vertical extensions to the existing buildings so that to increase the total space of the buildings.

Shear Design had to evaluate the existing structure including its foundations to ensure suitable capacity of the structure under the loadings of the proposed vertical extensions above and transfer the loadings to the existing columns below.

Due to the nature of roof top transfer structures and the maximum building height limitations, Shear Design Ltd have had to thoroughly evaluate their steelwork design to ensure that the steel beams are limited in their dimensions where required, whilst provide an economic and efficient design.

The upper floors of the extensions are formed in cold rolled steel framing, which is supported by the new hot rolled steel grillage below. In the cold rolled steel design by completing the loading assessment of said frame.

Shear Design had to work very close with all parties of the design team during the design and detailing process, in particular the building surveyors so that to ensure the new steel grillage is adequately designed to transfer the loadings of the vertical extension back to the existing concrete frames.