BAPS is a socio-spiritual Hindu organization striving to care for societies, families and individuals by mass motivation and individual attention, through elevating projects for all, irrespective of class, creed, colour or country.
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Gipsy Lane in Leicester opened in October 2011 after three years of effort by hundreds of dedicated volunteers and devotees, and is an innovative fusion of modern amenities and traditional concepts.
Creation of the BAPS temple complex involved the conversion and extensive refurbishment of an existing multi-bay former factory building and construction of a new entrance portico and colonnade in a traditional Hindu style.
Works to the existing structures required analysis of different construction forms including a steel portal framed structure and trussed lattice roof of a former multi-bay factory building to establish their suitability for re-use when subject to alternative loading. Analysis of the roof trusses required some local strengthening.
The original open interior of the factory unit was also sub-divided into multiple rooms of various configurations, with first floor areas utilising all available headroom.
Design and analysis was required for removal of internal columns, strengthening of existing foundations and new internal and external wall constructions to the south-facing elevation and the front elevation where a large expanse of parapet wall was introduced to mask the existing pitched roofs.
The new build works involved design of new structural steel and foundation elements for the feature front entrance, which incorporated a new basement.
The new works involved careful attention to detail to ensure sufficient support structures were positioned to allow for the intricacies of the multiple façade mouldings, and to limit deflections to prevent damage to brittle finishes.
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