The paper Bank Buildings, Belfast, UK: making safe after a fire written by WHP Managing Director Tim Lohmann and Keltbray's Operations Director John McClafferty has been awarded the Telford Premium Prize.
The paper, published in 2020 talks about the engineering aspects of the approach to making the listed Bank Buildings safe after a fire. The fire in August 2018 left the perimeter walls standing and the inside largely destroyed. WHP was involved in providing temporary works solutions making the remaining structure safe to allow the surrounding area to reopen and to start the rebuilding works on the retained building. Innovative solutions such as use of shipping containers as structural components supporting the facade as well as fibre-reinforced foundation rafts were also used in the project. The scheme was successfully installed, and access to the city centre has been reinstated.
The winning paper will be made free to read in perpetuity on the ICE Virtual Library.