Overview
We were employed as the Structural Engineers for the new indoor Baseline Tennis Centre at Stafford Sports College. This development was for a 37metre clear span steel framed building to house 3 tennis courts and associated facilities, along with a link to the existing sports hall. The development was a joint venture between the college and the Lawn Tennis Association and so there were strict guidelines on the internal space provisions and the quality of the playing surface.
We were employed as structural engineers for the project to undertake site investigations and structural design.
Brief
- Phase I desk study and Phase II intrusive site investigations to discharge Planning Conditions
- Foundation Design
- Design of the steel frame and secondary steelwork
- Masonry design
- Specialist ground floor construction build-up
- Attendance at site meetings
Solution
- The Phase I Desktop study comprised a site walkover, historic map regression and a review of third party environmental and geological reports for the site
- The Phase II intrusive site investigation involved on site excavation of trial pits, boreholes, soil sampling and gas monitoring. The results from these investigations meant that a specialist foundation solution was required along with gas protection below the building
- Piled foundation and reinforced concrete ground beams
- To provide a large open playing area a 37 metre span steel portal frame was chosen. We designed and detailed all of the structural steelwork
- Due to soft ground and ground water issues we used a combination of geo-textiles and land drains to allow us to form a suitable piling mat and to support the specialist floor build up