View source for Sports Direct Distribution Centre, Shirebrook, Notts

==Article in [https://www.newsteelconstruction.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/digi/2015pdf/NSCMar2015.pdf#page=20 NSC March 2015]==
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'''Sports company expands with steel'''<br>
The only viable option for Sports Direct’s new [[Retail_buildings#Distribution centres|distribution centre]] was a [[Portal_frames|steel-framed]] solution.<br> 

On the site of the former Shirebrook colliery, just north of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, Sports Direct is currently expanding its operations with the construction of a vast new [[Retail_buildings#Distribution centres|distribution centre]]. Sports Direct already has a presence on the site dating back to 2005, and this new retail/[[Retail_buildings#Distribution centres|distribution centre]] has a footprint measuring 300m × 150m and a height of 12.5m to the underside of the eaves. A two-storey high 30m-long bridge structure will span a service yard and link the new structure with the existing facilities, creating a combined [[Retail_buildings#Distribution centres|distribution centre]] with more than 90,000m<sup>2</sup> of floor space. 

The new structure consists of a series of [[Portal_frames|portal frames]], with spans of up to 34.5m wide on an 8.5m grid. “Steel [[Portal_frames|portal frames]] are the only viable solution for this project and offer an economical solution to carry a lightweight roof for [[Single_storey_industrial_buildings|industrial building]] applications. This is a tried and tested solution for this type of facility,” says RPS Associate Scott Harrison.

The varying spans of the project have been coordinated with the client’s proposed fit-out and the Shirebrook site constraints.

The project has been split into three [[Single_storey_buildings_in_fire_boundary_conditions|fire-rated chambers]] with structurally independent [[Portal_frames|portal frame]] structures to safeguard the business in case of a fire. These interlinked sections are known as C1, C2 and C3 (see diagram below) and all accommodate three-level cross-dock [[Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Mezzanines|mezzanines]]. “Consideration had to be given to Severfield’s programme to allow the [[Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Mezzanines|mezzanines]] to be constructed early in the [[Construction|construction]] programme,” adds Mr Harrison.
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The C1 section of the project is purely a distribution area and consists of eight spans of up to 33m with 17 column bays spaced at 8.5m centres.

C2 is also a distribution zone with four [[Portal_frames|portal frames]] with spans up to 35m wide, but it also accommodates three levels of offices housed within two smaller 24m wide portals. Large [[Trusses|trusses]] have been used to form the office zones as they span over a recessed dock area, and the steelwork needed to be protected against the potential for vehicular damage during the operation of the busy dock area.

Finally, the interlinked C3 sector is orientated in an east-west direction to suit the site, as opposed to the other areas that have their spans running in a north-south direction. C3 consists of four 24m wide [[Portal_frames|portal frames]] each with 20 × 8.5m wide bays.
{{#image_template:image=File:Sports_Direct_DC-Shirebrook-2.jpg|align=right|wrap=true|caption=Three interlinked [[Portal_frames|portal-framed]] structures form the [[Retail_buildings#Distribution centres|distribution centre]]|width=400}}
All three sections contain three levels of 16m-wide [[Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Mezzanines|mezzanines]] and these floors, along with the offices in C2, have been constructed [[Composite_construction#Composite slabs|compositely]] with [[Steel_construction_products#Decking for floors|steel decking]]. The office floor supporting structures take lateral support from the main [[Portal_frames|portal frames]] and [[Portal_frames#Bracing|bracing]] systems. The need for [[Portal_frames#Bracing|bracing]] to maintain [[Concept_design#Frame stability|structural stability]] cannot be designed out, says Mr Harrison. However, [[Portal_frames#Bracing|bracing]] locations have been designed with due consideration to building operational requirements.

Severfield is [[Fabrication|fabricating]], supplying and [[Construction#Steel erection|erecting]] 3,700t of steel for this job. All columns [[Fabrication#Handling and transportation|arrive on-site]] in single pieces with the majority being 610 × 350 members. The portal frame rafters however [[Fabrication#Handling and transportation|arrive on-site]] in two sections that are bolted together on the ground before being lifted into place.

“[[Construction#Steel erection|Steel erection]] is being undertaken during an 18 week programme,” says Severfield Project Manager Bill Armstrong. “To complete this schedule we have up to eight [[Construction#Mobile cranes|cranes]] working on-site doing four spans at time.”

Summing up the project, Winvic Project Manager Jason Bright says: “This is a fast-track project and steelwork’s [[Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Speed of construction|speed of construction]] has helped us achieve our objectives on what is a very busy site. The logistics of bringing materials onto the site are also challenging and need to be scheduled in advance as we are situated next to Sports Direct’s existing facility.”

==Foundations==
The [[Portal_frames|portal frames]] are built on reinforced concrete pad bases on the dynamically compacted remediated colliery site.  Special attention had to be given to the site’s backfilled former coal workings that contain a mixture of mudstone sand and clay. A large reinforced concrete raft has been designed for one area of the project that could not be accessed for ground treatment.

{|class="wikitable" width="400"
|-
|'''Architect'''||RPS
|-
|'''Structural Engineer'''||RPS
|-
|'''Steelwork Contractor'''||Severfield
|-
|'''Main Contractor'''||Winvic Construction
|-
|'''Main Client'''||Sports Direct
|}

[[Category:Case studies - Single storey industrial buildings]]