Building Design and Building Science: A Comprehensive Report on Tower 42

This report provides a detailed analysis of the construction of Tower 42, including its location, purpose, design, building methods, structural and non-structural elements, and material. It also discusses the behavior of materials and highlights defects or mistakes in the building.

Building design and building
science

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Identification of the selected building:........................................................................................3
Sub structural elements ...............................................................................................................4
Non- structural elements and material.........................................................................................7
Behaviour of materials...............................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
The report will comprehensively elaborate the structured detail of the construction of the
building. Construction is a broad term which includes various activities, tasks, detail as in order
to achieve the desired design of the construction. Not only it is plays crucial role in an economy
but also shapes the infrastructure of the country. Construction has been evolved over the years
like no other industries. There are multiple advancements which are constantly catering to the
demands of the clients, these clients may be for commercial, residential etc. there are various
segments under constructions, it involves different stages to complete a project (Al-Kodmany,
2018).
This report will highlight a detailed information about the selected construction building.
Such details will be such as location, address, postcode, photograph, date of building, purpose,
design, building methods, structural material etc. this details will help understand the project area
in better way. Report will further highlight foundation system of building, method of
construction chosen, materials used which played significant role, super structure description,
materials, such as walls, floors, roof etc. these are the structure elements and further report will
shade light on different non-structural elements and materials.
Such as floor's finishing, staircase, window, ceiling, interior finishing etc., which defines
the non-structural segments like environmental friendly material which were used. Further report
will also discuss the defects or mistakes in making the building. What are the areas which could
have been done differently, areas that makes the building age faster will be depicted. The
material used if deteriorating the quality of the building will be highlighted with primary
emphasis on the performance failure of the buildings. The report will mention photographs to be
evidence of the same. At last comprehensive summary will be illustrated about the concept
which will crucial in the report.
MAIN BODY
Identification of the selected building:
For the construction report building selected is tower 42. Tower 42 is also known as
NatWest tower, it is 183 meter tall and is skyscraper in London, UK. It is considered to be the 5 th
largest tower in London. It's original name was national Westminster tower. This tower was
designed nu Richard seifert and is engineered by pell frischman, these are well-known engineer
and designers (Kim and Clayton, 2020). The location of tower 42 is situated at 25 old broad

street, ward of Cornhill in London, united kingdom. It was popularly built by john mowlem &
company. The construction cost incurred for his building was £72 million which is worth £328
million currently. Postcode is EC2N in London.
It was formally inaugurated or opened on 11th June in 1981 by the queen Elizabeth II. The
tower is general purpose building for the offices which has 47 levels above the ground. It is a
commercial building which is occupied by different companies, legal firms, financial institution,
electronic manufacturers etc. Tower 42 had the status of being the first skyscraper yet it was
controversial during that time as London had put restrictions on tall building and it was the first
of its kind (Zahiri and Elsharkawy, 2018).
It was designed in beautiful manner which was aesthetic, early design estimated it to be at
the height of 137 meters, yet this developed with a centre piece of 197 meters, which was
preposed by the famous architect Richard seifert. Building included many innovations such as
double decked lifts, sky lobbies at 23rd and 24th levels, both these features made their debut in
UK. An automated external window washing process and an extensive computer controlled
system of air-conditioning were there in the building. Basement area was decorated with
panoramic images of skyline of London. It used to create the illusion of being above the ground
(Pocobelli and et.al., 2018).
Sub structural elements
Substructure: Tower 42 was the National Westminster Tower's status and was the first
skyscraper in the city. The demolition of this site was started on 1970 and it was completed in
1980. This shows that the tower is so historic and was constructed by the John Mowlem & Co.
which was around the huge concrete core. The tower was firstly opened on 11th June in 1981 by
the England Queen Elizabeth. The method used in this was all concrete as the main vertical
structure elements were used and floor spanning systems were also constructed (Deiter, 2021).
The material used in order to make this tower was almost steel frame that used to surround the
core. The tower used to have 42 floor and floors were of lightweight construction.
In order to make such big tower it can also be use the foundation technique that is
shallow foundation. In this technique the individual footing is done that will be helpful for the
long term. It is basically the most common used foundation that helps to make the proper
structure of the building. The substructure of Tower 42 was so amazing that includes the offices
spaces, restaurants and many more things at every floor of the building. This shows that the

building is the residential building as described in the substructure. The material used was all
concrete that is all steel material which shows that the building will be having less utility in the
future (Sasidharan, Torbaghan and Parlikad, 2020). The best foundation technique that can be
used is the Raft foundations in which the foundation was almost spread across the area in which
the building will be prepared so that the heavy structure and walls can be stable.

Super structure: This super structure was build by the John Mowlem & Co. and it used
to have its headquartered in National Provincial Park. In total the tower used to have 47 level that
is above the ground and from this 42 were cantilevered. This cantilevered floor is basically
designed by three segments and it is known as Level 1. The same pattern of the tower was
repeated at the top so that structure of the building must be maintained. This building also
includes the innovative features that is related to the design which is double decked lifts that used
to provide the services between ground level to the top- level. At that time the sky lobbies and
Double decked lifts were new in the UK that shows that the structure of the building was so great
in those ancient time (Arrif, Bezza and Belaid, 2021). The walls of the Tower 42 was well-
prepared and roofs were basically made of the concrete. This shows that the material used at that
time in order to make the building was of A grade. The tower was having the own telephone
exchange at that time and there were some areas that were decorated with the photographs like
London Skyline, etc. The fire suppression design includes the pressurized stair walls, fire
redundant floor barriers, smoke venting, etc. The cantilevered floor were designed as this used to
provide advantage to the building that air can be provided at every floor. As the material used
was basically of steel that is modern skyscraper that means the concrete framework and the
curtain walls or the polished stone. This shows the building very beautiful externally and
internally as well. In June 2012 the building used to has LED multi-media lighting that was
around the 39 levels.
In order to make the such the super structure the costing was around £72 million. In the
present time the building used to have the large and best grade office spaces and restaurant at the
24th floor and sea food bar on its last floor that is 42nd floor. The structure of the building is very
beautifully designed by the interiors of that time as in present also it looks so amazing. The load
bearing capacity of Tower 42 is around 94 KN per leg and this is most the strongest load bearing
system . By having the high load bearing capacity it helps to have the quick and easy assemble of
the things at every floor. The view from the roof of Tower 42 is so great as many building can be
seen of that particular city. At each floor of the building the vertical columns are connected to its
horizontal girder as this used to provide strength to the every floor of the building (Hawkins,
2022). This was considered as the toughest process to construct the structure of this building as
steel structure is not easy to distribute and have the vertical support for the whole floor. But by
having the strong foundation and low centre of gravity it was possible to make such large

building by using all concrete material. By having the automated external window and the best
washing process it used to have better controlled system of air-conditioning that makes the
building to be free from dust and get polluted in the environment.
Non- structural elements and material
The structural systems in order to build and construct the building is that which used to
support the loads of the building. This is basically done by using the steel frame that used to have
better support to have large construction. The non-structural elements used in order to make the
building was mechanical and electrical plant, pipework, ceilings and non-loaded bearing
partitions, etc. By using such material it will be somehow easy to construct the building and
having the best support till the last floor. In order to construct this building or tower the concrete
dual structure system is used. This system used to provide the gravity in order to support the

heavy loads. The floor covering at every floor was by using the carpets which shows that each
floor of the tower was very well settled and designed. As that time the proper material was also
not available and the construction of the tower was badly affected in the market. The building
used to have the best stairwell and having lifts as well as it will not be possible to climb till the
last floor.
The tower also have the fire stairs which will be easy for the people to have exit at the
time of emergency. There are mostly corner windows used in the building as it is made up of
glass from the corners. The glass window was mostly shattered and this makes the innovative
design by having the double decked lifts. The flooring of the building was improved by having
the timely furnishing that makes the tower structure to look more beautiful. It is also seen that the
ceiling while having the construction of the building was almost the same as the height of normal
ceiling of the residential building (Ruiz, Navarro and Kaiser, 2022). The lower floors of the
building was occupied by the NatWest's Overseas Branch by this it shows that the tower is
having every floor filled of the best things. This type of structure is consists of the group of
columns and beams that is connected by the rigid points and frames. By this the height and rise
of the buildings were done and by this the proper structure of the Tower 42 was made.
The material used for ceiling was quite improper which has made the ceiling to be
properly developed. The roof of the building was kept to be repaired on the continuous basis as
this used to maintain the decoration of tower. There are some damp which can basically cause
the structural damages, so they must also make it proper as this is one of the largest tower in UK.
The use of concrete tiles was best as this was heavy as compared with the slate that is made of
timber. Windows of the building was basically made up of the glass as this makes the tower to
shine at the night. The building also has the lightning on the glass that used to make it more
beautiful at night.
The tower was designed by the Richard Seifert and the engineered Pell Frischmann. This
is the tallest building to be built in the market of London in the late 1980s. For the 30 years it
was considered as one of the tallest building or tower in London. The interior finishing of the
tower was basically of the tiles and pa[er walls which makes the tower to have the look beautiful
from inside as well. By having everything better from inside and out it makes the tower look
more beautiful and rich from outside. The ceiling is basically the overhead or the covering
surface of the roof that makes the roof to be properly furnished. In 2011, it was taken by the

South African business man Nathan Kirsh in £282.5 million. Early design of the tower was
envisaged of 137 metres and have the develop by the 197 metres. In this the best innovation done
in the building was that mail train that used to deliver the things and have better contribution in
the document (Paul, Heidler and Schulz, 2019). For the point of time it was one of the biggest
and tallest cantilever in the world. The non- structural element of the building basically consists
of the electrical and architecture things that helps to have better construction of the building. It is
basically the safety equipments which is most required that is air flow and pipeline that must be
properly built.

Behaviour of materials
The behaviour of the materials includes the things that used to have negative impact on
the building. By having increase in the temperature or increase in the fluid and the strain rate and
the deforming rocks used to have impact on the structure of the building. The sunlight also have
the great impact on the construction and colour of the building. In order to maintain such things
regular repairing and colouring is required. As the chosen building is Tower 42 and it is mostly
made up of the glass so its appearance used to have shine at the night because of having LED
lightning. But at the day time the apprentice used to see impacted as some of the glasses are
broken that are required to packed up again (Biswas, Arora and Gangadhar, 2021). In the current
era the tower has constructed the new entrance that shows that the building is well maintained by
the owner. In year 2014 the building was refused to get listed as it was having alterations in order
to be more beautiful. This is considered as one of the main reason which used to have proper
design of the characteristics.
These are some proper conditions that are followed by the owner of the building and
prevented them to have better appearance. There was the time when the building was loosing its
shine but by having the alterations in the building it was ready again and now it is one of the
tallest building in London. As the building was made up of all concrete so it used to provide the
mechanical strength and also has the durability in the market. This is considered as one of the
best material as it used to contain the reinforcement bars and wire fabric that is better to have
durability. This used to keep the building safe from the fire as steel structure does not get
affected from the fire. The shine of the steel also not loose by having the high temperature in the
market. This was basically the one of the important things in order look the building more
beautiful in the present era as well.
The building was also having the repairing on the continuous basis and the LED max
lighting was also done that makes that building to look more beautiful. The exterior of the tower
was basically clad with the thousands of pixels that was mounted on the chain netting and used
to display the different colours and designs by having the LED lightning (FANG, QIAN and XU,
2021). This used to prevent the tower to get affected and lose its shine as it is constructed long
back in the 1980s. The tower was further also used to have the refurbishment that used to include
the landscaping and the pedestrian spaced and also the new restaurants were developed to
maintain the decency of that tower.

CONCLUSION
The above report has studied various aspects in detail which has concluded the
construction and design dynamics of the building. The building chosen was tower 42, which is
situated in London, UK. the report has shade light on various crucial aspect of the construction
and design related aspects. In the finding various areas were brought to light such as first of its
kind innovative aspect which were used in the construction and designing of the tower 42.
Various important things have be mentioned in the report such as the designers, architects,
material used, technology used, project method used etc. as indulging in a construction work is
going to cause an impact which is long-lasting on the economy of the country. As construction of
the buildings adds to the infrastructure of the business which makes it very important for the
makers to get job done in rightful manner.
There needs a compliance of various aspects which is important as construction project
needs to consider the usage of such material which does not harm eh environment and adds to
the lifetime of the building. Address of the building, location, postcode, photos of the front part
of the building, significant dates and years of building, purpose, designs, materials used etc.,
have been described in detail, further structural and non-structural elements of the building has
been elaborated. Such structure elements included foundation system, material used, techniques
used in foundations, super structure description etc. has been depicted. Under non-structural
elements and material aspects like floor's finishing, staircases, windows, ceiling, interior
finishing including tiles, paper walls etc. has been shown in the report. Tower 42 is an old
building in one of the first sky scrapers in the UK. Various shortcomings and mistakes while
making the building has also been elaborated on the report.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
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tower systems using iterative artificial bee colony algorithm: a review and case
study. International Journal of Ambient Energy. 42(1). pp.65-80.
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Failure Analysis of Transmission Tower. Water and Energy International. 64(4). pp.31-
34.
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and Paradise Lost. The Seventeenth Century. 36(6). pp.1015-1038.
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Tower Using High Resolution Remote Sensing Satellite Image. Spacecraft Recovery &
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of London. Ecclesiastical Law Journal, 24(3), pp.345-363.
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