Argyle Street, Glasgow
Appointed as principal contractor, Dem-Master were tasked with the asbestos removal, demolition, site clearance and enabling works (reduced level dig and installation of sheet piling) of this iconic, city centre project in the heart of Glasgow.
The Site comprised of redundant buildings on land bordered by Robertson Street, Argyle Street and York Street in Glasgow City Centre. The main scope of works included implementation of suitable traffic management, asbestos removal, soft stripping works to safely accessible areas of the building, hand reduction, machine demolition of the building superstructure, protection of road, footpaths and Network Rail Infrastructure (Anderson Tunnel) together with grubbing up of existing floor slabs, foundations and sub-structure followed by a reduced level dig and installation of sheet piles.
The site was dominated by a 5 storey traditional sandstone residential / commercial tenement block with slate roof over timber trusses and sarking. Internally, floors were of timber beam and joist construction supported by cast iron columns. Areas of the floor were in partial collapse with temporary propping having been installed under an earlier contract. To the east of the main building on Argyle Street was the 3 storey sandstone tenement with traditional slate roof and a 2 storey shop unit which lay on the corner of Argyle Street and York Street. To the rear of the plot were a variety of extensions and outbuildings which formed part of our contract.
The site, situated within Glasgow City Centre was surrounded by busy roads, one-way streets and a mix of commercial, office and residential accommodation.
Summary of works:
- Site Mobilisation
- Site Fencing including lane closures
- Removal of Asbestos
- Soft Strip
- Erection of scaffold
- Deconstruction using hand demolition
- Machine demolition using long reach demolition rated excavators
- Breaking out of basement floor slabs and sub-structure
- Temporary protection to retained gables
- Reduced Level Dig
- Formation of Piling platform
- Sheet Piling works
- Demobilisation
Risks:
- Poor structural condition of external walls and internal floors
- Working 1 meter above the Network Rail tunnel
- Movement / monitoring of adjacent properties
- Live services remaining within buildings
- Bio hazards
- Asbestos
- Working in busy City Centre location
- Retained services within roads / footpaths
Dem-Master have a duty of care, as always, which included close liaison and communication with stakeholders, including our client, neighbours, hotels and various retail stores. Regular newsletters were delivered detailing specific information prior to each step of our works.
Our highly skilled and experienced project team worked together throughout this project ensuring the safest methods and considerations were in place for each stage of the demolition works. Method statements with 3D images were produced for each stage of this project allowing a visual for our client and site teams.
Due to the location of the buildings and the close proximity of the main road and passing public, phased road and path closures were in put place to ensure the safety of our team and the people of Glasgow. These were planned in advance in co-ordination with Glasgow City Council Roads and Environmental Health Departments and notified by means of newsletters and signage. Along with our site management and supervisory team, our banksmen were on constant duty, ensuring the safe movements of plant and vehicles and monitoring the demolition operation as it happened to safeguard the passing traffic and pedestrians. Each member of the project team were equipped with 2-way radios allowing them to be in constant communication.
As there was minimal space to store and separate materials on site, careful planning and communication was adopted between our management, transport, site and administration teams to allow for the smooth flow of vehicles between our waste facilities and the operational site. This was key to ensuring the project kept running at a fast pace.
Several protection measures were put in place to prevent any damage to the paths, roads, neighbouring properties and the Network Rail tunnel located below Argyle Street. Dem-Master constructed an engineered a protective layer of polystyrene blocks, topped by a layer of crushed material to the ground along each section of the building as the demolition progressed. This ensured minimal impact and vibration to the road, path and tunnel. Vibration levels were monitored around the clock using vibration monitors at various locations on site and within the tunnel.
The sensitive nature of this project required out-of-hours shift working. Due to the poor stability of the 5-storey building, Dem-Master were required to work on 2 separate weekends around the clock. This was essential to ensure the safe demolition along Argyle and York Street as well as reducing the length of time the roads and paths had to be closed.
The final stage of the main demolition works included careful separation of the building which adjoined a live block of residential apartments on York Street. Previously, our team installed a scaffold support system as protection to the lightwell of the residential apartments. Careful hand deconstruct demolition techniques were carried out to safely separate the buildings. The exposed gable of the apartment block was then fitted with protection to prevent any potential weather damage.
Following the demolition of all structures, Dem-Master carried out a reduced level dig to approximately 8 meters below footpath level. This was carried out in tandem with the installation of the 12m sheet piles to the perimeter of the whole site prior to the establishment of the piling mat which was formed of crushed material to a height of 1 meter.
99.74% of materials from this site have been recycled!
Community
- The founder of the iconic ‘What Every Woman Wants’ retail chain was particularly interested in our project as this was the former home of her flagship store which was very popular with the people of Glasgow. Vera Weisfield was presented with the old signs from the former store after her son got in touch with the Dem-Master team via the public media. We’re fortunate to be in the position to give a small piece of the history back to Mrs Weisfeld.
-“I’m delighted to have this sign. It’s amazing as it brings back so many happy memories.” – Vera Weisfield - Dem-Master are proud to be able to give something back to the communities surrounding our demolition projects. Working with Simon Scotland, we sent a team to carry out asbestos removal and strip out works to a building on Argyle Street which is currently being renovated in to a homeless centre which will be used as a hub providing support to Glasgow’s homeless community.
