The property, situated in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, is undergoing a major transformation project managed by Candy and Candy, to create one of London's most exclusive residential addresses.
Walter Lilly, a provider of residential construction services, appointed Simplex Westpile to design and install the ground works across the 2ac (8,100m2) site.
Split into two phases, the initial visit saw the construction of a continuous flight auger (CFA) secant pile wall, 160m in length, with pile diameters up to 750mm and to a depth of 19m.
Approximately 10m of the wall was located in the existing house and required installation using specialist low-headroom equipment. In addition to the wall there were 140 CFA bearing piles constructed to a depth of 24m.
The second visit involved the installation of additional CFA secant pile wall and load-bearing piles for an outdoor swimming pool. In total over 160 piles of 600mm diameter were installed to a depth of up to 18m.
This project provided the team with a range of challenges, which, through forming a close working relationship with the main contractor, were successfully overcome. The existing house is a listed building, and the new basement was to be constructed between this and the boundary. These restricted conditions led to the team using the new Soilmec SF65.
Matt Walpole, operations manager at Simplex Westpile, said: "The confined working environment of the Chelsea project presented us with a fantastic opportunity to showcase the capabilities of the Soilmec SF65. The four-man piling team was set a tight programme, and all involved were impressed that work was completed two weeks ahead of schedule."
