The Lansdowne, Birmingham

Project team

Client:Seven Capital/Long Harbour

Architect:Building Design Group

Structural Engineer:SRC

Main Contractor:Interserve

Concrete Contractor:FP McCann

Photos:FP McCann

Date of completion:2019

The Lansdowne is a 17-storey residential building in central Birmingham, with a precast structural frame, plus numerous other precast components.

The supporting structure of the building comprises external and internal precast concrete walls, plus  columns and beams. The external walls are sandwich panels 410mm thick, including a detailed buff brick design on the outer 80mm. The insulation layer sits between the inner and outer concrete faces. The thickness of the internal walls is 180mm.

The facade panels have been designed to accommodate two-storey high windows, a signature feature of the building. All vertical precast wall sections have been designed for ease of build, linking together with hidden tie rods. Joints are finished with a high-strength non-shrink grout, fully conforming with Building Regulations.

The precast concrete columns stand 5.5m high, while the beams are typically 6.5m long. All the columns and beams are 800mm wide by 400mm deep.

The facade panels were manufactured at FP McCann’s nearby Byley manufacturing facility. 

More information on offsite construction techniques can be sourced from Offsite Concrete Construction.

Featured in CQ Autumn 2019 (pg 16)