Park Inn Hotel and Office Development, Clarence Street West, Belfast

Doran Consulting was appointed to provide structural engineering services for the construction of this 10-storey hotel and office development in Belfast city centre. The development incorporates a 145 room hotel set out over 6 storeys, with 4 floors of high-quality office space above. The upper 8 storeys sit above a 2-storey podium level which houses restaurant, bar, reception and services facilities for the hotel and office block.

The structure is constructed predominantly of reinforced concrete. The floor slabs were designed as flat slabs to aid the provision of services and limit the overall height of the structure. Stability is provided by reinforced concrete lift and stair cores throughout the building. The basement has been formed using a sent piled basement wall, which acts to retain surrounding earth pressure and support the weight of the building above, on piled foundations.

The development site presented several challenges to the project including the close proximity of nearby structures, a large river culvert, and high level microwave communication beams which placed restrictions on the access available for cranage. These challenges, coupled with a tight delivery program for the building, required construction issues to be considered in detail from the outset. The use of jump forming to the cores is one example of this design approach, which was developed in close cooperation with the contractor.