Construction engineering at The Acre, UK: how innovative props facilitated building reuse

Abstract

The Acre is a ‘retrofirst’ refurbishment of a 1980s office building in central London, UK, with 80% of the original structure being reuse. A key requirement was to temporarily divide the ten-storey building into two independent parts during demolition and later reconstruction of linking units. This paper describes the award-winning temporary works used to create a clear work front, with four props horizontally stabilising the building while the site was served by rooftop tower cranes. Far fewer temporary elements were required than first envisaged, leading to benefits to programme, cost, safety and emissions.