Manchester Royal Infirmary
Bison has supplied precast concrete columns, beams, walls, stairs and pre-stressed long-span floors for a multi-storey car park (MSCP) at Manchester Royal Infirmary. In addition to providing spaces for patients, visitors and staff, the car park also incorporates a series of retail premises on the ground floor.
The car park was erected in 20 weeks onto prepared foundations. The building incorporates 15,440m2 of floor units, 355 individual beams, 141 columns and 191 ramp, shear and stair walls together with stair flights, all of which were produced within Bison’s own advanced production facilities. It is one of the largest car parks in Manchester and has already received a Park Mark Safer Parking award.
Dave White, Car Park Operations Manager, Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals Trust, said: “Bison’s precast concrete solution was cost-effective, in-keeping with the surroundings, and their proven track record gave us that additional comfort factor. The resulting multi-storey facility provided the spaces we needed and was opened ahead of schedule.”
The split-level MSCP has a fully precast concrete beam and column frame. The columns were cast in two sections to a total length of 21m using grade 60 concrete. Bison’s long-span flooring system provides a clear span of 16 metres, using 400mm-deep units with a structural topping of 75mm. These are supported by fully precast beams spanning up to 9.6m using the Bison Speed Frame (BSF) connection system. Combined with BSF connectors these beams can support up to 950kN on a single connector.
Bison representative Peter Kelly, commented, “The Manchester Royal Infirmary MSCP is a successful example of precast construction methods resulting in speed of construction, buildability and cost-effectiveness, without compromise to aesthetics or freedom of expression.”The car park was designed to satisfy the requirements of the ‘Secure by Design’ accreditation authority while still allowing for a free choice of structural materials and applied finishes. All works were carried out to the necessary health and safety requirements using passive fall protection provided by Bison Air Mats.