CampbellReith provided engineering services to ‘Mile End Limited Partnership’ for the student accommodation development on Mile End Road in London’s ‘East End’.

The accommodation provides 630 bedrooms and comprises a series of blocks up to 10 storeys in height, with a partial basement.

The foundation design was extremely complex as the site extends over the Central Line Underground Tunnel, which passes approximately 10m below the surface and is adjacent to the Hammersmith and City Line that runs in a shallow cut and cover tunnel below Mile End Road.

The structure is supported on a mix of piled and raft foundations and careful consideration of the impact of demolition and subsequent construction on the surrounding infrastructure was required. Preliminary analyses of ground movements and initial consultations with London Underground Limited (LUL) were undertaken to facilitate the planning process.

The foundations and superstructure varies depending on its proximity to the LUL tunnels. To the east of the site it is possible to place piles each side of the Central Line and large concrete ground beams bridge the tunnel supporting a lightweight cold rolled steel frame panelised superstructure above.

In the centre of the site it was not possible to bridge the tunnels and a basement was formed, supported by a raft. The additional building load was then offset by the weight of the removed soil required to form the basement.

At this stage LUL required a detailed analysis of these areas to prove that no additional load from the structure was being imparted on the running tunnels below. Piles were then used outside of the LUL tunnel exclusion zone to support an in-situ reinforced concrete frame and a precast concrete panel superstructure using a Bell & Webster system above.

This type of construction was favoured because of its robustness, sound attenuation and speed of erection required for student accommodation. We were novated to the Design and Build contractor for the detailed design and construction stages.