Part of a long-term regeneration plan, this project involves the transformation of the iconic 1960s Elephant and Castle town centre. There will be several new retail, office and residential units along with an expanded underground station.
Our piling works involved delivering secant and contiguous walls to protect the Bakerloo line tunnels. We faced challenges, thanks to very difficult ground conditions and the site’s location next to an existing Thames Water Sewer and LUL assets.
A range of piling techniques was used from mini piling and CFA to large diameter rotary piling. To support the superstructure, a combination of 550 no. 600 mm CFA bearing piles five metres deep and 68 no. 1200 to 1800 mm diameter rotary bored piles to depths of up to 50 metres were installed. A significant number of piles was installed to support temporary structures including crane bases, two logistics slabs and site offices.
For the shallower two-level basement, piles for the secant wall extended to approximately 30 metres in depth. To support the excavation for the ITH, piles extending to 50 metres in depth were used for the rotary bored secant wall. In addition, a line of 1200 mm diameter contiguous piles was installed to help protect the Bakerloo Line tunnels running through the site.
To optimise the pile design for load bearing capacity (and hence embedded carbon), the design was developed on the basis of a combination of expendable and working test piles.
Related projects
