Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
Client: Interclass PLC | Location: Coventry | Value: £5 million
The Belgrade Theatre was built in 1958 as part of the reconstruction of Coventry after World War 2 and has since become an integral part of the life and culture of the city. Rubix are proud of their Coventry heritage and were delighted to offer advice and guidance to Interclass PLC on Temporary Works matters during the project tender stage.
In 2020, Interclass were awarded the prestigious construction contract and works began to prepare the iconic theatre for the forthcoming City of Culture event to be held in 2021.
The construction work involved extensive internal structural refurbishment including the removal of heavy-duty load bearing masonry walls over several storeys and the installation of new steelwork.
The temporary works solutions had to be robust enough to support the theatres solid masonry floors and concrete floor slabs whilst being sensitive to the needs of businesses and office premises that were still live and occupied during the works. This called for innovative and intelligent designs which would ensure that the structural stability of the theatre remained un-compromised whilst also making sure that third party live environments were unaffected and remained entirely safe throughout a fast paced and demanding construction programme.
This was made possible by the strong team ethos and rapport formed between Rubix Consulting and the Interclass PLC project team, which allowed for collaborative working and exploring ‘outside the box’ temporary works options together. Regular site meetings and visits were carried out to assist the Interclass PLC team in ensuring that the installed temporary works were in accordance with the design intent and installed correctly.
There were instances where the structural fabric of the building was found to be different to what was expected which required some ‘thinking on the feet’ to produce alternative temporary support solutions.
