Manchester Town Hall | Temporary Roofing

The scale, geometry and structural requirements of the historic building made the temporary roofing particularly complex. In some locations, the supporting scaffold extended up to 15 metres above the last tie level, creating high tie loads that had to be accommodated within the design.

Where the Albert Square South roof meets the Lloyd Street roof, the structure is supported by a 15-metre span spine beam between Lloyd Street and Courtyard C. Due to the loads generated by the freestanding scaffold above the final tie level, Cyntec ties were required to connect the structure through the façade to the building’s cross walls and floor slabs.

The temporary roofing also had to integrate with the existing building and surrounding scaffold structures without creating clashes. Brand Access Solutions therefore developed the scaffold structures using Revit and SCIA analysis software, while BrandSafway’s engineering team in the Netherlands contributed to the design of the temporary roof structure.

The use of 3D modelling enabled the temporary roofs to be designed around a digital model of Manchester Town Hall. Potential clashes could therefore be identified and addressed during the design process before erection on site.

The roof frames were craned into position two bays at a time, with the remaining bays erected in situ between them. Once the frames were installed, Layher Keder XL sheeting was pulled across tracks fixed to the top of the roof trusses to complete the weather protection.

The Revit drawings also incorporated QR codes, allowing the client to view and navigate the 3D models of the temporary roofs and inspect individual areas of the design.

The resulting engineered temporary roofing solution provided weather protection for the restoration works while accommodating the complex geometry and structural constraints of the Grade I-listed building.