Build June (2016)

Build Magazine 16 Croft Structural Engineers is a vibrant, growing practice of young professionals. We invited Phil Henry to provide us with an overview of the company and its service offering. Croft was established by Christopher Tomlin in 2004 and has since grown with demand and now employs 14 engineers. Whilst the recession had a huge impact on the Construction industry; Croft continued to invest in its marketing, keeping up-to-date with technological advances and promoting the development of its Structural Engineers to ensure that the company was well positioned to survive the recession. Since inception the firm has adapted to the changes in the economic climate, further developing its subterranean developments at a time when expensive house prices resulted in people considering underground developments and other renovations. Phil explains the firm’s service offering and how this helps it to achieve its overall aim. “As a design led practice, our principle aim is to work to improve the ‘built’ environment. The practice is based in South London with the majority of projects within the M25, and a variety of other projects around the UK and internationally. “In order to achieve our aim we adopt a holistic approach by providing the best design solutions to meet our clients’ needs. Before any structural design is completed the brief is reviewed with our clients, site visits and inspections are undertaken, structural calculations are defined for all elements, and only then are the drawings produced.” Being based in London and surrounded by historic buildings, the team at Croft has gained significant expertise in the renovation of historic period properties and are leaders in the field of renovation. Additionally, as a result of this demand Croft has further developed its Temporary Works design. The company has a number of specialist engineers who have completed Temporary works training and received certification as Temporary Works Engineers. Phil provides an example of the firm’s work in this area, outlining the challenges the team faced and how it worked tirelessly to overcome them. “A good example of a Temporary Works project we have recently undertaken is Victoria Road, a substantial Victorian property in the heart of Kensington that we provided the ground works and superstructure Temporary Works design. The project required the old Victorian property to be refurbished and a new basement 7m deep to be placed around the entire site. “Around the perimeter secant piled wall was used. These were drilled around the perimeter of the site 20m deep forming a reinforced concrete box around the perimeter of the building. The area inside the piled wall can then be safely excavated. “The site was known to have a number of water problems, so the team at Croft researched into the options for ground stabilisation. The secant piled wall did a good job of holding most of the water out. However, it was not possible to pile along the party wall line. The option proposed was to use polymer injection. This is a known technique but generally used around blown pipes in basements. Croft took this concept and developed it to act as a water blocker to the water under the party wall. “By offering Temporary Works services we are able to ensure that clients and contractors can keep the design with one consultant, and often one engineer in the company, reducing the delays and confusion. In the basement arena the level of information at Planning has significantly increased: Croft now has a strong skill base in helping architects with the information at planning (BIA’s and CMS’s). This highlights our dedication to maintaining excellence in every aspect of the work we do.” Ultimately, the construction industry has never been short of innovative construction procedures and materials, and according to Phil the future for both the firm and the market looks promising, with developments in modular construction and speed of construction set to provide the firm with opportunities for growth. “Over the next 12 months we expect to see further growth in the basement construction field and continued development of 3D modelling and BIM integration. We have a dedicated team trained in 3D modelling and BIM integration and it is our intention to ensure all the engineers are trained in this area within the coming year. It will be interesting to see how 3D printing develops within the industry, both with modelling and with full-sized construction techniques.” Special Feature 1606RB04