Demolition Company of the Year Safedem implodes two Scottish tower blocks.
There are times when it appears that William Sinclair, managing director of demolition contractor Safedem, is intent on single-handedly changing the Scottish skyline for ever. In recent years, Sinclair has personally overseen numerous tower block implosions across Glasgow and Edinburgh; and this weekend saw him add another notable double to his already bulging portfolio.
The two 16 storey tower blocks in Kincardine, Scotland were cleared for Fife Council in advance of a major regeneration of the area which involves the construction of new low rise properties.
The structures were of Bison Wall Frame Panel construction which had been overclad in the late 80’s due to insulation problems and water ingress. Safedem removed the overcladding utilising mastclimbers in advance of the explosive demolition. Advance works also included asbestos removal, soft strip, preweakening, drilling and installation of blast protection measures in advance of charging the structure with explosives. Each structure had over 8000 tonnes concrete and took just 28 kg of explosives per structure to initiate the controlled collapse.
The collapse mechanism and delay sequence had to take into account both overground and underground liabilities. A live substation and two major retaining walls located less than 5 metres from the west elevation of the structures required the buildings to be directed towards the east. Historical information however indicated the drop area to the east of the buildings was riddled with mine workings. The site investigation identified a series of mine workings approximately 10 metres from the east elevations of the structures which had to be avoided.
“We were effectively restricted within a long narrow strip where we had to land the structures,” says William Sinclair. “Given the proximity of the mine working we also had to reduce the ground vibration to absolute minimal levels.”
“At first these looked like straight forward blocks – the panel construction being the classic ‘pack of cards’’, however this type of structure has caused serious problems for others in the past,” Sinclair continues. “These structures were almost identical to the buildings in Niddrie, Edinburgh which failed to collapse back in 1991 following an explosive demolition attempt. The important factor with such structures is to effectively disrupt the external panels and break the rigidity and boxiness of the building.”
To see the implosion, please click here for the slick news video version or see the amateur bersion below.
