Cambridge University Modular Building: 88 Screw Piles to Beat a Tight Programme

When the University of Cambridge needed foundations for a new modular building, UKHelix supplied and installed 88 Finnish-made helical piles, taken down to 6 and 8 metres.

The build ran to a tight programme, so the foundations could not become the bottleneck. UKHelix kept the solution cost-effective by working with 3 metre piles and extensions. Two drive units ran side by side: one installed the lead sections at speed, the other delivered the higher torque to drive the extensions to depth, with a high-torque drive hub speeding the work up further. The crew finished a day ahead of schedule.

With all 88 piles installed ahead of programme, the site was ready for the modular building to be set in place. On a fast-track build like this, the screw pile foundations kept the foundation stage off the critical path.