Located within a basement adjacent to Bishopsgate in The City, our involvement in the first new Fitness First gym to open in 4 years primarily concerned the structural design of the suspended steel framed mezzanine structure forming the female change area.
This was formed of beams spanning between the grid of existing steel columns and the perimeter reinforced concrete retaining wall. These beams were assisted in their load-carrying capacity by steel hangers fixed to the existing ground floor steel beam arrangement and flat plate cross bracing throughout; forming stiff braced frames to the front elevation.
This provided a clear basement slab and mezzanine level maximising the use of space both above and below. It also ensured that high point loads did not have to be imparted onto the in situ concrete on profiled metal deck floor to the existing basement floor deck.
We were also required to advise on the structural design of the new steel framed main entrance staircase which was partly supported by the new mezzanine structure and hung from the existing ground floor beams. We also advised on the associated floor slab infill works at ground floor (entrance) level.
Steel frames were also provided to TRX hanging positions in an adjacent studio to take account of the various dynamic loads imparted by the system, in a multitude of directions, during use.
