London District Energy

Enwave is an energy company that provides district energy solutions to municipalities and other developments.  Their London subsidiary, Enwave London District Energy, planned to expand their existing cogeneration plant in order to increase their production capacity.  HH Angus & Associates Limited, an industry-leading mechanical and electrical engineering consulting firm, was the prime consultant for the project and they retained Milman & Associates Limited as their structural engineering subconsultant.

The project involved the expansion of an existing 45 foot-tall multi-storey structural steel building that was to remain in operation during the construction.  The expansion consisted of a steel structure with a footprint of 5500 square feet that also included renovations and upgrades within the existing building.  The intention was for the expansion to connect to the existing building to allow open, unimpeded access for people and process infrastructure.  Structurally, we separated the buildings with an expansion joint in order to prevent the transfer of lateral loads between new and existing.  We completed a detailed structural analysis of the existing building, which included a review of drawings and documents and a thorough site investigation to verify the existing conditions.

To accommodate the expansion and upgrades, we designed reinforcement for parts of the existing structure, including gravity and seismic elements.  We designed mezzanines, platforms, and equipment supports within the existing building; it was critical for our design to limit disruption to the building operation.

A major challenge of the project was that the existing site was very congested.  The site was bound by a tight property line on one side, with existing buildings and equipment on two other.  We had to navigate weak soil conditions, existing foundations, buried services, and equipment in order to design foundations for the new building and new heavy vibrating equipment.