Cawarden delivers the demolition and site clearance of the former 7-storey Chemistry Block at Loughborough University.

Cawarden was awarded the contract for the demolition and site clearance of the former chemistry building after successfully completing the Sir Arnold Hall Building on campus.

The Chemistry Block was located in close proximity to the Sir Arnold Hall Building. This 7-storey building had a concrete frame and was constructed in the 1960s. In an attempt to improve its appearance, a lightweight steel frame and panels were added to the outer shell of the building at a later stage. Unfortunately, the building did not age well over the years and it was ultimately decided that it needed to be demolished. As a result, we were tasked with removing the building from the Loughborough skyline forever.

The project was completed over a period of 25 weeks, during which the building was systematically demolished. The site could then be levelled, creating a blank canvas for future development.

Before commencing on-site works, our investigations, assessments and surveys confirmed that gas, electric, water, and air-con units had already been decommissioned.

To begin with, our team’s initial tasks on-site involved setting up the entire site. We started by installing a timber hoarding painted with the University’s chosen colour around the perimeter of the building, creating a CDM area. We also set up an internal Heras fence and barriers for segregated areas. Furthermore, to ensure our team’s welfare, we established a compound with all the necessary amenities, designated parking areas, and a smoking zone. All fire points were installed inside the building on every working level at significant points to ensure safety.

To ensure safe and efficient traffic management and logistics, we collaborated with the university to agree on a transport route in and out of campus. We also re-routed pedestrians to cross areas safely as needed.

With the building secured, a detailed asbestos removal programme was undertaken. Both licenced and non-licenced material had been included in the initial surveys and this was all removed and disposed of accordingly.

Once we had removed the asbestos from each floor, we meticulously stripped the rooms of all soft furnishings and cosmetic materials to bring the building back to its shell. We made sure to segregate the waste at source into individual waste streams and moved them to separate skips for recycling, recovery or reuse, while keeping the waste going to landfill as minimal as possible.

The soft strip team worked in a designated area that was separate from the asbestos teams. They used different stairwells to enter and exit the building. A dedicated drop zone was set up to dispose of waste from the lower floor rooms. The building waste resulting from the strip out was directed through an open window and straight into the skip below. Waste from the upper floors was placed in dedicated rooms. The machine could then remove the waste during the demolition process.

With the building cleared, we were then able to start the structural demolition aiming to have the building down on the ground before students returned from the summer break.

The floor-by-floor demolition methodology started work at the end of the building containing the stair core and where the building was at its highest point thanks to the sloping site. The other end of the site had limited accessibility, hence the decision to start from this end.

To control noise and dust, we implemented an environmental monitoring plan that included proactive monitoring for both. Baseline readings were recorded before major works began, and ongoing monitoring took place at key stages throughout the project, such as mechanical demolition, slab break out, and crushing. A dust suppression system was put in place to prevent dust release, utilising a dust boss suppression system and direct machine connections to the high-reach rig.

Our 28m high-reach was able to quickly remove all external steel frameworks holding the fibreglass flues from each of the chemistry labs. The removal of the flues also gave us more room in which to work and start removing the outer cladding from the structure.

A standard-sized demolition machine worked alongside the high-reach, to sort, process and dispose of the waste materials as they were lowered to ground. Banksmen were in attendance throughout the demolition and at elevations directly opposite university walkways and existing buildings to ensure public safety.

All concrete, brick and block material from the demolition, slab and foundation removal was crushed on-site using our mobile crushing unit.

To complete the works, basements, voids and level changes were backfilled using the site-won crushed material. All other crushed material was removed off-site, loaded into lorries, leaving the site clean, clear, level and ready for future development by the client.