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Abford House Integrated Access Solution

Situated opposite Victoria Station, the nine-storey, predominantly glass faced building is topped off by a dramatic curving roof at the north end, nicknamed ‘the bonnet’. It is this curving roof that provided both the challenge and the solution to this project.

The Challenge

To house the building maintenance unit (BMU) in the available space without spoiling the aesthetics of the building, ARX incorporated part of the roof structure into the machine. When not in use, the BMU retracts back into its garage and the integrated roof section acts as the garage door, creating a continuous roof line. This is the first project completed by ARX in this field and we believe in the UK also.

The Solution

The 22m reach telescopic Building Maintenance Unit (BMU) lowers a two person cradle down the side of the building to access the full external façade for cleaning and maintenance.  The machine is capable of rotating through 360 degrees as well as luffing up and down and the telescopic nature ensures that the machine is able to retract back into the available garage space when not in use.

Technical Details

  • The BMU is raised out of the garage on a large lifting table surrounded by guard rails to protect both man and machine.
  • The machine is seated on two short sections of rail on the top of the lifting table, so that when it reaches its peak, these rails mate with a longer twin rail system allowing the machine to traverse the length of the roof.
  • The rail system incorporates a mesh walkway and fall restraint safety line system.
  • Whilst the BMU itself is a commercial-off-the-shelf product, the integration of the roof section meant that it had to be re-engineered to account for additional wind loadings and the additional cantilevered weight of the roof.
  • Once the machine is retracted and parked, the entire system is designed so that the roof section sits flush with the static roof and creates a continuous roof line.

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