Completed in November 2015, the 12 storey Zig Zag office building sits directly above the underground lines in one of London’s busiest transport districts. Vibration control needed to be planned into the building design from the outset.
Following an acoustic assessment of the ground-borne vibrations at the construction site, Trelleborg designed and provided bearings to be installed through the Zig Zag building ranging from lateral restraints, stand-alone bearings, shear keys and tension restraints. They were capable of supporting columns of 1000 tonnes to isolating a staircase supporting one tonne.
Design manager within Trelleborg’s engineered products operation, said: “As cities the size and complexity of London grow, the challenges of constructing iconic buildings in complex environments increase, not just in terms of space, access and proximity, but also in terms of how they perform acoustically.
“Our team of experts were able to meet the strategic environmental demands of vibration reduction in this landmark construction and ensure that no matter the load or location of the bearing within the building, each unit deflected by the same amount to bring consistent performance throughout.”