The New Ayr Campus

In 2007 ConForce were approached by Woolgar Hunter for assistance in developing a scheme design for Ayr Campus, a rectangular building on a fairly uniform grid of 8.2m x 8.2m. ConForce assisted in proposing floors with large clear flat slabs, post tensioned, 250mm thick, with the only beams being along one side of the building where transfer loads from columns occur. After further design development this was adopted.

The building has a very large floor plate at 140m x 56m and the total post tensioned slab area is 17000 m² on 4 floors. During design a pour layout was developed having pours as large as possible within reasonable limits of concrete placing and stressing work. The longest pour at 52m requires the post tensioned tendons to be stressed from both ends to minimise the effects of friction along the tendon.

ConForce secured the subcontract order in August 2009 and soon carried out detailed design and drawings of the suspended slabs at ground floor level with actual site works beginning in December 2009.

This is the fourth major project secured with Bovis Lend Lease and we look forward to its successful completion. It also marks the fourth educational building for ConForce in less than a year and demonstrates our ability to provide competitive well engineered solutions for these concrete buildings.