Principal Tower wins 'Highly Commended' at Concrete Society Awards

Principal Tower is a 50-storey residential building – one of the tallest residential skyscrapers in London. We used an innovative jump-form system on the project that had never been used in the UK before. It enabled the construction of all walls and columns as one, in an efficient and safe environment. In addition, the finishes achieved were of good-quality, durable, polypropylene aluminium composite panels.

The fibre-optic monitoring we used on this project provided valuable information for studying axial shortening effects.

For each concrete grade, mixes were developed for different weather conditions in order to achieve early strength and progress the post-tensioning and jump-form operations. A range of concrete strength classes was used throughout; post-tensioning was used for all slabs, which allowed for a reduction in slab thickness and load on the foundations.

A good surface finish was achieved in both the top-down basement soffits. The as-built structure was well within tolerances both vertically and horizontally.

The jump-form system offered an innovative method of constructing high-rise concrete-frame buildings in the UK, reducing the six-day cycle per storey to five days. The project also used monitoring for axial shortening of the concrete structure using a fibre-optic system developed by Cambridge University. A complex process, advancing construction in concrete.

You can find further information on our works at Principal Tower by clicking here