Challenge

Exhibition Road, running from South Kensington to Hyde Park, had long been in need of rejuvenation, and was recognised as an under-used location despite comprising a combination of museums – including the Victoria and Albert Museum – and universities.

A £25 million project was implemented by partners The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Transport for London (TfL) and Westminster County Council with the ambition of transforming the street into a world-renowned cultural destination that was pedestrian-friendly.

The innovative design - by Dixon Jones Ltd - had 'shared space' at the centre of its vision. The installation of granite paving, along with lighting and street furniture, was intended to prioritise pedestrian access over traffic requirements.

The project was funded by TfL, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster City Council and English Heritage.

Solution

SteinTec supplied specialist bedding and jointing mortar for the 16,700 square metres of granite paving setts that were to be installed.

SteinTec’s Technical Director, David Burton, also gave expert engineering advice at the initial concept stage all the way through to completion, to make sure that the project was designed and constructed to BS 7533 requirements - the code of practice for the design and construction of 'rigid' (mortar bed/mortar joint) pavements in public realm works.

Outcome

David commented:

“We worked closely with the team on this project and provided most of the technical specifications and method statements for the paving. Our bedding and jointing mortar was used throughout the project due to its high performance for heavy trafficking. ”

When the work is finished the contractors will have laid 27,000 square metres of surfacing with just under one million blocks of granite, weighing 9,000 tonnes altogether.