Grand Central Hotel, Belfast

Standing tall in Bedford Street as Northern Ireland’s largest hotel, The Grand Central is the tallest commercial building in Ireland, this £53m project involved the transformation of a 1970s era office block into an iconic four-star hotel.

The Hotel comprises 300 luxurious bedrooms, three restaurants, conference and meeting room facilities and an observatory bar on the 23rd floor, its ‘jewel in the crown’, as the breath-taking setting for panoramic views over the city.

Amphora Consulting supported Hanna & Hutchinson in assessing and modelling the existing 1970s concrete frame. Using detailed knowledge of concrete durability and modelling techniques, Amphora were able to predict that the existing concrete frame could resist the modern-day fire load and that no special treatment of the concrete was necessary.

This saved the Contractor significant costs and contributed to a reduction in the programme.