The project involved the creation of a new global Adidas flagship store in a prime retail location opposite Selfridges department store in the heart of London’s West End.
The project
The works involved the reconfiguration and extension of the lower five floors of this ten-storey building to create a self-contained retail unit with a main entrance on Oxford Street.
The challenge
The piling works comprised the upgrading of the existing building foundations to accommodate increased loading from proposed additional high level floor construction. The total building loading in the subject area is now supported using a combination of new piles and the strengthening of existing ground bearing mass concrete column pad foundations, using bonded Pali Radice mini piles. The works were carried in restricted access conditions in the busiest shopping street in the world using all electric Fondedile mini piling rigs operating in 3.2m headroom within the existing basement.
The solution
The existing column foundations were strengthened using the Keller proprietary Pali Radice mini piling system where mini piles were rotary bored directly through and permanently bonded to existing column bases to increase their foundation capacity. Subject to adequate foundation geometry, this removed the need for dowelled pile cap extensions or over cap construction and the associated excavation works and programme implications. It provided a positive foundation strengthening system with minimal disruption.