This week Timber Development UK held a webinar on the Built East Pavilion Belfast, winner of the 2021 Small Project Wood Award. OCSC’s Regional Director David Fletcher and Associate Paul Devine presented the project along with OGU Architect’s Rachel O’Grady and Christopher Upson

O’Connor Sutton Cronin lead the Structural Engineering Design on the East Pavilion project. East pavilion is inspired by a particular kind of roof structure called the “Belfast Truss”. These curved timber lattice structures used to be commonplace in Belfast’s factories.Belfast Trusses were used throughout the UK and Ireland and as far afield as South Africa. Belfast Trusses were often made of the leftover wood from Belfast’s boat-building industry. The Belfast Truss represents the area’s history of manufacturing ingenuity.

OCSC developed a design using the historical examples which came from the likes of Andersons and McTear & Co. in Belfast. Andersons became very successful with offices across the UK and in New York.

The brief for the foundations were that they could not impact on the recently laid paving, and they had to be transportable for relocation to another site. OCSC worked with Rachel and Chris to develop the size and shape of the foundations.