International House, London

Thomasons was appointed by International House, a renowned English language school to provide structural engineering services for their new school in central London. The project was to convert and extend an existing 1950s' four-storey building with a basement, originally constructed for the Greater London Council.

Thomasons had to devise an engineering solution that would enable two new staircases to be built that would improve access to all floors. A section of the existing building that was originally used as a staircase and toilet block was also demolished and reconstructed with its floor levels matching those of the main building.

During the build, investigations by Thomasons uncovered that a large amount of additional excavation was essential, but using traditional build methods would have imposed extra cost and delay to the programme. Thomasons therefore devised an alternative foundation solution using mini-piling that was both cost and time-efficient and enabled the project to be completed on time and within budget.