The Moor Lane project, a residential development in the heart of Bolton, is set to bring much-needed housing to this bustling town centre location. Renaissance engineers have played a crucial role in ensuring the project’s success, offering innovative solutions for structural and civil engineering challenges. This case study highlights our contributions to the ongoing project, demonstrating our commitment to sustainable design and efficient delivery.
Project Overview
The development, a collaboration between Step Places and Bolton at Home, naturally splits into three zones and will be built in two construction stages. At the centre of the site, a courtyard of 22 eco townhouses will provide a perfect option for families and couples looking for a convenient city-centre location. The picturesque courtyard will provide parking and a shared community area in a city centre location where space normally comes at a premium.
At either end of the site, four steel-frame residential apartment blocks will cater to modern living. Two blocks will be dedicated to older living. The ground floor of the latter two blocks will house commercial opportunities for local businesses, putting retail outlets right on the resident’s doorsteps.
Heritage and Conservation
Located near the Lemon Crescent conservation area, it was important that the development respected and blended with the area’s historic aesthetic. Project architect, AEW Architects, delivered a design and façade that offered a modern look while harmonising perfectly with the area’s rich heritage.
Infrastructure and Services
Renaissance engineers designed an offsite infrastructure of highways and drainage, delivering a drainage solution tailored to the relative flood risk and drainage needs. Keeping it simple, the site utilises regular SUDs features which are in part managed by the clients and also in part adopted by united utilities.
Renaissance also submitted a Section 278 application to the highways authority to ensure smooth access to the Moor Lane site. The through road into the development has been designed by renaissance, constructed by the contractor, for adoption by the local authority highways.
Structural Optimisation and Sustainability
Because the form of the apartment blocks is quite straightforward, we continually sought to critique our design to ensure optimisation at each stage. In overall terms, we were able to reduce steel tonnage by designing to unity and in doing so, reduce the embodied carbon in the structure by 15%, saving on material costs. This had a positive impact on the foundation design, allowing a smaller diameter pile to be adopted, further reducing the embodied carbon.
The Bottom Line
Our expertise in material savings, structural rationalisation, and efficient engineering solutions has proven invaluable to the project’s ongoing success. As the development progresses, the contributions of renaissance engineers will continue to pave the way for a thriving, sustainable community in Bolton.
