Cawarden delivers extensive asbestos removal and high-rise office block demolition at a former steelworks site in Corby.

The site of Tata Steel’s former office block, abandoned for over 20 years, is set to be redeveloped. Cawarden’s demolition engineering expertise was brought onto the project to help regenerate the site and deliver a beneficial after-use.

Early engagement between the client and specialist contractor ensured all the up-front enabling works were efficiently completed before physically arriving on-site.

Following site set-up, our works began with an extensive asbestos removal of the 3-storey office block before we commenced the demolition with a specialist high-reach excavator. We then followed the same process for the 8-storey structure which also included a plant room and basement.

Dust suppression was used to damp down the dust throughout the demolition.

The building was located right next to a main road so once we had reached the gable end of the buildings, we used a ‘stop and go’ technique to safely carry on with the demolition whilst managing the traffic and keeping the public at a safe distance.

As instructed by the client, the slab was to remain in place due to a high voltage cable running underneath.

To complete the project, extensive groundworks required our team to dig out the footings of the basement and level the entire site.

All waste material was segregated to maximise recycling. Demolition debris was crushed on-site to minimise vehicle movements and we used the material as backfill for the basement and later reuse into the new construction.

High-Reach Methodology

We carried out a detailed structural investigation prior to demolition to select the most suitable methodology to bring the building down.

Our team of demolition engineering specialists, site management and highly trained operatives applied the safest demolition methodology and techniques using the latest plant and equipment to deliver the works.

The methodology chosen to demolish the reinforced concrete Brutalist buildings was a ‘pyramid demolition’ sequence, bay-by-bay to step the building down – working up to the main core, which was then stepped at a 45-degree angle to demolish the final section.

Our high-reach excavator began by pulverizing the external brick-based panels allowing the hardcore to either fall onto the floor below or into the drop zone. This revealed the concrete roof panels and internal walls.

The excavator systematically pulverized the roof and wall panels, working its way through the building per our detailed Demolition Phasing Plan.

Once the first section was completed, we lowered the boom and manoeuvred the excavator into position to begin the next phases of demolition. This method continued until the buildings were down to level two. Other demolition excavators were then brought in to continue the demolition works, demolishing the building progressively until all structures had been demolished down to slab level.