The 3Ts Redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital has passed another milestone. The first piles, that form part of the foundations for the Stage 1 Building, have been set in place. This is the first piece of true construction work for the building.
Duane Passman, Director of 3Ts explains:
“Being able to give over a quarter of a large acute teaching hospital to construction is a major undertaking. The enormous amount of work on that site of the Stage 1 Building to date has been in preparation for the redevelopment’s first new, permanent building. The preparations have included moving clinical services into new, high quality, modular buildings and deconstructing nine different buildings.
Now however, the construction of the redevelopment’s Stage 1 Building is underway. Although not visible, the foundation piles mark the transition from preparation to construction. This is the point where the years of planning and preliminary works begin to pay dividends, literally from the ground up.”
Foundation piles are large reinforced concrete columns that sit below ground level and support the weight of the building above. The piling works are starting in the north-west corner of the construction site and will continue through much of 2017.
The Stage 1 Building will stand on 413 piles in total. The piles on the northern boundary are being sunk to a depth of 33 metres. The piles that will support the building’s southern boundary, alongside Eastern Road, will be between 10 and 15 metres deep. The difference is caused by the natural slope of the site from higher elevations in the north to lower elevations in the south.
Piles for the building are formed by drilling a hole to the required depth. A reinforced steel cage is lowered into the hole and concrete is pumped in. Once the concrete has hardened the pile is capped, ready to support the building above.
If you would like to know more about how the piling works download our short guide.
