Panther House

Dukelease employed us to carry out the enabling works package at Panther House, located on Gray’s Inn Road and Mount Pleasant within the Holborn area of Camden. The redevelopment will consist of a mix of apartments, workplace, and retail space, retaining the majority of the existing fabric to preserve its historic character behind the retained façade of the existing 160 – 164 Gray’s Inn Road.

Our scope of work across the site included asbestos R&D surveys, asbestos removal, isolation of all incoming services, and soft strip across site. We then carried out complete demolition of 156 Gray’s Inn Road, demolition with façade retention to the two end flank walls of Brain Yard Tram Shed, and demolition with facade retention to 160 – 164 Gray’s Inn Road. We also completed the construction of the six storey RC frame with stair and lift core and installation of the precast concrete stairs.

Additionally, we performed partial demolition with cut and curve to Panther House, facade retention to all external walls, demolition of the roof, internal walls, and floors down to basement level. We were responsible for the design and development of elements of the permanent steel frame, including innovative sequencing to reduce the requirement of temporary works steel. Further works included the construction of RC slabs and interface with existing at lower ground floor level, construction of the permanent steel frame to ground floor level and installation of the permanent steel deck and concrete to ground floor slab.

During a trial pit investigation, remains of 17th Alms Houses were found, resulting in a full watching brief and assisted excavation to survey and record the full extent of the remains. We also carried out underpinning to the other three sides of the basement, consisting of neighbouring party walls, tram shed boundary walls, and the western wall of the retained Panther House building.

We employed both large diameter CFA and mini pile rigs to carry out the installation of a secant pile wall as well as permanent and temporary bearing piles with plunge steels to accommodate temporary works in the new and existing basements respectively.

We constructed a logistic slab integrating the permanent works with the dual purpose of servicing the project and providing temporary support for the secant pile wall for basement construction. Additionally, we developed a waterproofing design to the existing and new basement, including interfaces, and implemented and installed the design up to a sensible scope delineation.

Our teams across the UK and Ireland are always on the lookout for new opportunities and new ways to help make a success of brilliant projects.

The Panther House redevelopment project was a complex and challenging project that required innovative techniques and solutions to overcome the challenges. Our team successfully carried out the enabling works package, ensuring the preservation of the historic character of the site.