The Old Admiralty Building

The Old Admiralty Building is the new London Headquarters of the Department for International Trade, located in the heart of Whitehall on Horse Guards Parade. It was originally one of the buildings from which the worldwide affairs of the Royal Navy were run.

Deconstruct were commissioned to carry out extensive structural alterations and asbestos removal within the listed structures. The buildings were constructed in 3 phases from around 1900-1912, and are traditionally built with masonry, concrete and steel frames. Modernisation of the extensive space requires significant structural alteration.

• removal of asbestos from within the fabric of the structure while introducing significant amounts of new structural openings
• lift cores, external plant structures and structural framing within lightwells
• significant temporary works and new structural steel, all of which designed by our in-house team.

Deconstruct have faced various challenges on this project, none less so than the way information was compiled during the 3-phase construction. Piecing this information together has required significant collaboration with the design team, Deconstruct have carried out an investigation across the building to verify what the professional team is expecting to uncover. This investigation has not only been to verify structure but to also identify where asbestos is present and provide a comprehensive report throughout the building, for the Department of Education to remain compliant following our departure.

With a programme spread over 100 weeks, this project demands a resource of over 150 operatives at its peak, covering asbestos removal, temporary works, demolition, steelwork installation, finishing concrete, making goods and heritage protection.