Scudder was appointed by St Edwards Homes to demolish 375 Kensington High Street
(Charles House). The former Inland Revenue offices stood at 10 storey high, plus basements, with a footprint of 50,000sqm. The site is bounded by Kensington High Street with a prestigious London hotel opposite, smart residential streets and a main railway line. Success of the demolition works was such that the Carey Group where then awarded further works drawing on the expertise of both our both Civil Engineering and Concrete
Structures divisions. The demolition phase of the project was shortlisted in the Specialist
Awards 2012.
Client
St. Edward Homes a joint venture between Berkeley Homes and The
Prudential
Location
London, England
Principal Contractor
St. Edward Homes
Engineer / Consultant / PQS
Manhire Associates / St. Edward
Homes
The demolition of the building required meticulous planning, and involved different demolition techniques for each section of the building. 80% of the exterior of the building was encased with monarflex sheeted independent access scaffold, reducing dust and noise transmission. The rear of the building was left clear, allowing long reach remote demolition machines to demolish two of the rear wings and the central spine.
The remaining wings (adjacent to the railway and public highways), were simultaneously demolished, top down, using 7 tonne demolition spec machines fitted with pulverisers. In order to remove the basement, a pressed sheet pile retaining wall system was installed tight to the boundary, during the demolition phase. Vibration monitoring with audible and visual early warning alarms, was installed to ensure the gas and water mains were safeguarded at all times.
Due to the close proximity of live railway lines, much of the work required close liaison with Network Rail, carefully planning and communicating site activities in advance to ensure smooth progress.
With the successful completion of Phase 1, Careys was awarded the second phase of works.