Papers published in Forensic Engineering are eligible for awards from the Institution of Civil Engineers. Papers from any of the ICE journals can be nominated for several awards. In addition, each journal has awards dedicated to their specific subject area.
On Friday 15 October 2021, ICE president Rachel Skinner presented awards to the following papers published in Forensic Engineering in 2020. The editorial panel nominated their best papers and an awards committee chaired by Tim Broyd allocated the awards.
Telford Premium
The Telford Premium, presented to the best paper published in Forensic Engineering, was awarded to Lohmann and McClafferty (2020).
Abstract
In August 2018, a fire badly damaged a listed building in the centre of Belfast. This left the perimeter walls standing and the inside largely destroyed. Because of the dangerous nature of the structure, the surrounding area was closed. This paper describes the engineering aspects of the approach to making the remaining structure safe to allow the surrounding area to reopen and to start the rebuilding works on the retained building. The design approach to the public safety cordon involved the use of empirical techniques, as well as advanced simulation software. The design approach for the facade-retention scheme was complicated by the poor ground and buried services, as well as having to allow for installation with no access inside the building. The solution involved the use of shipping containers as structural components, as well as fibre-reinforced foundation rafts. The scheme has been successfully installed, and access to the city centre has been reinstated.
