April 2024

A wet month which has led to an uptick in enquiries relating to penetrating damp. Heavy rainfall has been exploiting inadequate maintenance regimes, design weaknesses and poor site discipline during the contract phase. H+R are heavily engaged with three major CLT decay cases currently, all the result of these issues

 

Particular projects have included the Henley Building in Kent, which is a notable Art Deco structure built for the company of that name who were leaders in the manufacturer of undersea cables. We have also been re-engaged on the refurbishment of the Royal Richmond Hospital to enable the scheme to be built-out after the original contractor, Henry Boot, went into Administration

 

It was interesting to be appointed in a building advisory role at Pinewood Studios, but of most interest is the specialist investigative work being undertaken at the ‘Eagle and Child’ pub in Oxford. This is being extensively refurbished as part of a far larger scheme and has proven to be a popular commission for those surveyors who are followers of the ‘Inklings’, the group made up of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis

 

H+R are pleased to see the completion of the domed roof at Smithfield Market after our input. The whole surface has been re-covered in copper and when built in the early 1960s, was the largest single-span concrete roof in Europe

 

In addition, it was good to see the completion of the refurbishment at Bristol’s concert hall – Bristol Beacon, formally known as Colston Hall. H+R regularly support the project team of Levitt Bernstein, Mace, Arcadis, AECOM, Willmott Dixon and Arup on this and other schemes