UDC 725.8 Paper t o be read before a meeting of the Institution of Structural Engineers at l l Upper Belgrave Street London SWlX 8BH on Thursday 8 December 1977 Anthony Stevens was educated at Watford Grammar School and Westminster Technical College. In 1946, he joined the Civil Engineer's Office of the Midland Region of British Railways, break for National Service, until 1955. where he worked on a range of railway structures, with a two year He was then employed by Sir William Halcrow and Partners in London on the design of structures for power stations and colliery as an assistant resident engineer on the Lower Moriston winding towers. Transferring to Scotland early in 1957, he worked Hydro-Electric Scheme, chiefly in the underground works. on structures chiefly for University Buildings in Birmingham. Since the early 1960s he has become increasingly involved in, allits phases. He was responsible for the structural design of the and responsible for, the design of the Barbican Redevelopment, in with Ove Arup and Partnersin London, working on a large project Wellington Hospital, London. He is currently a Project Director in Saudi Arabia. In the Autumn of 1958 he joined Ove Arup and Partners to work Brian Corbett graduated at the University of Manchester in 1953 including work on the Piccadilly Line and Victoria Line station and joined Sir William Halcrow and Partners on tunnel schemes latterly as Civil Engineering Offic?r*Low Countries and then joined layouts. He served in the RoyalAir Force from 1955 and 1957 the site staff at Willington 'B' Power Station. the design and construction methods in heavy foundations, of In 1959 he moved to Soil Mechanics Limited, concentrating on which the most challenging were the reactors at Dungeness 'A'and Oldbury, and the deep basement at Fawley Power Stations. Sincejoining Ove Arup in 1968 he had a key involvement in the design of the basements, and foundations at Kensington and Arts Centre. Chelsea Town Hall, Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Barbican retaining structures and CVCP3 Earthworks. He represents the Institution on BSI Committees CVCP2 Earth The Structural Engineer/November 1977/No. Il/Volume 55 Barbican Arts, Centre: the design and construction of the substructure A. Stevens, CEng, FIStructE, FICE B. 0. Corbett, BSc, CEng, MIStructE, FICE, A. J. Steele, CEng, FICE MASCE, MSEANI Ove Arup and Partners Alan Steele joined W. S. Atkins and Partners in 1951 and worked the steelworks in Llanwern and Berkeley nuclear power station. on a variety of structural and civil engineering projects including In 1962 and 1963 he was employed by J. L. Kier and Co. Ltd. on the construction of the M2 bridge over the River Medway. In 1963 he joined Ove Arup and Partners and was involved in the design of the 42 storey tower blocks in the Barbican for the Barbican Arts Centre. Redevelopment and, in 1969 he was appointed the Project Engineer comprehensive redevelopmentsfor large areas of Oxford Street telecommunicationssystem in Saudi Arabia. and Hammersmith in London; an Arts Centre in Glasgow and a During this time he has also worked on designs for Synopsis The conditions for the design of the substructure of the Barbican Arts Centre, London, are outlined. The building comprises a large deep basement, andis surrounded by existing buildings, including two tallblocks of dwellings. Theproblems thereby posed are examined. A generalaccount is given of the proposed form of the structuralsolution. Particulars are supplied of the data, chiefly soilproperties, gathered as a basis for the justification of the design. The forces from the soillikely to be applied to the structure are considered. A prediction of the level of generalstability of the soiland sub-structure around the excavation is discussed. Estimates of horizontalmovement in the side walls of the substructure, and the means employed to make them, are reported. Details are given or the development of the design for elements of the substructure, walls. horizontal walings and props. The relationship between sequence of construction and potentialhorizontalmovement is considered. Important factors in the construction are described. The effectiveness of the substructure design in satisfying the conditions in which it has been built is examined, and conclusions drawn. 473
