EGGER (UK) OSB HDX boards fitted at Borough Yards redevelopment

A new lease of life for London’s historic railway arches at Borough Yards

The restoration and regeneration of Central London’s Victorian railway system will see up to 8,500m² of railway arches repurposed into a contemporary retail and leisure scheme as part of the redevelopment of Borough Yards, due for completion at the end of 2020.

Located in Southwark, Central London, the Borough Yards redevelopment scheme will transform the Victorian railway viaducts into raw-brick, cathedral-like retail and leisure spaces. The design includes a mezzanine level inside the arches, maximising the retail space on offer to the customer, Meyer Bergman European Retail Partners II.

Specialist structural contractors, LA Metalworks Limited developed a hybrid structural steel and cold Rolled Steel Joist system (RSJ) to create a platform throughout the network of arches in the railway viaduct. EGGER OSB HDX structural flooring boards were proposed by LA Metalworks to the design team as part of their early engagement of the scheme for use on the project to create mezzanine flooring platforms on the RSJ throughout the arches. This was due to their knowledge of the product capabilities and lightweight handling.

3D BIM models were used by LA Metalworks throughout the design and planning stages in order to accurately specify, as well as visualise, the RSJ within the viaduct, which features a complex labyrinth of Victorian-engineered brick arches which vary in size and stature. By downloading EGGER’s OSB HDX BIM Object, available on bimstore, the technical properties of the board could be downloaded directly into the digital specification of the project.

A lighter, stronger alternative to 38mm chipboard

Choosing EGGER’s OSB HDX boards for the mezzanine flooring has provided the contractor with a highly robust structural flooring to work with. This OSB can withstand heavy loads, whilst being around 20% lighter than standard 38mm P6 chipboard.

Paul Donovan, Senior Contracts Manager at LA Metalworks said "With the site situated in Central London, storage space on site was almost non-existent and the practicability of manoeuvring boards around the narrow arches had to be considered. EGGER OSB HDX boards were delivered direct to site in packs as-and-when needed and were ready to use. As the boards were so light, they were easy to handle onsite, move from arch-to-arch and once lifted to the height of the steel frame, were easy to fit”.

EGGER OSB HDX is the ideal board for sites such as Borough Yards. With its higher point loads and UDLs, the strength and stiffness of the boards are designed to take higher loads. Furthermore, it requires fewer joists, providing the opportunity for significant savings.

For more information on EGGER OSB HDX, please visit www.egger.com/hdx. To download EGGER OSB HDX as a BIM object click here.