Case Study: Destruct Engineering Wilson & Albright Towers.
Location: Oldbury.
Download: destruct-engineering-wilson-albright-towers.pdf

Brief

The Wilson & Albright towers comprised two 15-storey housing blocks of reinforced no-fines-concrete frame structure with brick infill panels.

Part of Sandwell Metropolitan Council's housing stock in Oldbury, on the outskirts of Birmingham, the buildings represented a challenge to traditional demolition techniques.

Solution

IKM Consulting Ltd provided structural assessment of the existing structures and confirmed the extent of pre-weakening required prior to explosive demolition. Openings were cut into open shear walls to pre-weaken the structures and to influence the direction of collapse.

Outcome

Demolished on time and on budget, the buildings collapsed into very light debris piles, to the clients satisfaction.