IYLO

A difficult pour of 250 cubic metres of high strength concrete has been successfully completed in south London.

The pour was carried out at the IYLO project, a 20 storey residential apartment building being constructed in Croydon. A design requirement to reduce the depth of the main transfer beam on the second floor from 1.5 metres to 600mm, meant that high strength concrete was needed to retain the structural capabilities in the thinner section. To meet this specification, C90 concrete was supplied to main contractor Lancsville Construction from Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Sevenoaks plants containing Sika admixtures to obtain 28 day strengths of 115n/mm2, well in excess of the required design strength.

Our own technical staff, working with Sikia, conducted rigorous laboratory trials before producing the final design mix. The pour itself presented quite a challenge, not only because of its size but also having to cope with traffic and local conditions on the ‘island’ site. To ensure a successful conclusion, a vast amount of work went into preparation and planning. This involved a co-ordinated team approach between the London technical and operations team along with Sika technical staff and field technicians working on site and at the plants to ensure the project ran smoothly.
Technical services manager Jasen Gauld said: “The close working relationship enabled us to meet all the projects challenges.”

When completed next year, the IYLO will be a glass-clad elliptical tower of two equal halves that will appear to be sliding past each other. It sits on an island site in a key location close to Croydon centre and will house 183 private apartments including 11 penthouses.