Holiday Inn, Brentford Lock

The hotel forms part of the redevelopment of the waterways of the Grand Union Canal in west London. Designed by Moren-Greenhalgh, the building overlooks the canal at Brentford Lock. As well as 152 spacious bedrooms, the hotel provides extensive conference facilities, with a waterfront suite overlooking the canal which can cater for up to 600 guests and delegates.

The building is 2 and 5 storeys with a single level basement for car-parking which is below the water table. Manhire Associates considered various structural forms as well as different foundation and excavation retention options. The basement was formed temporary sheet piles enclosing a piled reinforced concrete basement. The bedroom block is of pre-cast cross wall construction supported on a transfer slab at first floor. The conference centre is structural steel with cellular beams giving large flexible column free spaces. The steel structure is expressed externally along the canal and lock with curtain walling carefully detailed and integrated with the structure.