Situated on the Albert Embankment in London, the Riverbank Plaza Hotel gained planning permission for a 6 storey expansion. The original Riverbank Plaza Hotel structure was never intended to be a high storey development and Walsh was tasked with the required structural engineering to ensure the additional floors were viable. Initially, our engineers checked whether the design of the existing building could handle loads outside its original specification. This established a need to design additional transfer systems to prevent overloading. Our innovative solution was a three storey vierendeel truss system. Walsh designed all the steelwork and the principle connections. Our engineers also devised a load bearing system to support the crane during construction. Prior to construction, we also carried out checks to ensure that the building had sufficient resistance to vibration. Importantly our design had to work around the requirement to keep the hotel open during the project construction phases. It was essential to work in close coordination with the main contractor. We designed a fan system around the parameter of the building that ensured any falling objects would be intercepted, for example. We also suggested a scaffolding support system, starting at a high level, that vitally did not interrupt access for the Riverbank Plaza’s guests.