BAUER Technologies Ltd. executed foundation works for an exclusive building complex in London

On the edge of the trendy district of Shoreditch in the English capital, the impressive Principal Place building complex, including the 50-storey Principal Tower, is currently being built. BAUER Technologies Ltd., the UK subsidiary of BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH, was commissioned for the required specialist foundation engineering works. From the end of June to the end of September 2015 Bauer installed 25 large-diameter bored piles as part of the early works package for the foundations of the 50-storey Principal Tower. These piles also serve as retaining walls for the new eight-track railway corridor.

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The main works began in November 2015 and included the installation of 48 bored piles with diameters between 1,350 and 2,000 millimeters as well as 14 plunge columns for the 50-storey Principal Tower. Additionally, Bauer drilled 40 bored piles with 880-milimeter diameters for the adjacent 15-storey residential building. As the project was constructed using the top-down method to form three basement levels, the 150 linear meters of building site boundary are supported by a secant wall, consisting of 880 millimeter diameter rotary bored piles. Bauer rotary drilling rigs from types BG 30 and BG 40 were used for this.

The installation of the plunge columns within the bored piles required a temporary guide frame, which was specifically designed and fabricated to deliver the tight tolerances required by the project specification. Additionally, Bauer employed a special on-top reaming tool for installation of the 1,500 millimeter diameter bored piles. It was newly developed during a previous Bauer project for the expansion of pile diameters with temporary casings. The extremely tight tolerances and difficult soil conditions placed high demands on the team from Bauer Technologies. Completion of the Principal Place complex is planned for 2019.