Canary Wharf basement support: temporary works design notes for ground engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Temporary works for the 7m-deep, triangular basement at 30 Marsh Wall in Canary Wharf are being delivered using Groundforce Shorco modular hydraulic props, supporting a secant piled wall and capping beam installed by Murphy Group on a highly confined site. Phase 1 uses five MP250 props up to 18.4m long, including 813mm-diameter extension tubes and remote load monitoring on the longest members, plus MP150 knee braces, all stiffness-matched to a Plaxis 3D model to meet tight deflection limits. Phase 2 adds four 6.3m-long MP375 raking props at 45°, each rated to 375 tonnes and fixed into 1,200mm-deep stub columns in the slab and capping beam, enabling progressive removal of flying shores as the concrete core and slabs advance.
Technical Brief
- Basement footprint is triangular, with secant piled walls forming sides of approximately 50m, 37m and 39m.
- Site is fully hemmed in by existing buildings, driving a low-clutter temporary works strategy.
- Niall Keely-designed steel corbels are cast into the capping beam to pick up flying shores.
- Steel stub columns are cast 1,200mm into both slab and capping beam to anchor raking props.
- MP250 prop lengths in Phase 1 are 12.9m, 13.2m, 14.6m, 18.0m and 18.4m.
- Two longest MP250s use 813mm-diameter extension tubes instead of standard 610mm for higher bending stiffness.
- Remote load monitoring on selected props tracks load deviation as a proxy for wall and ground movement.
- Basement slab casting is sequenced in two phases to overlap with prop installation and staged removal.
- Slip-formed concrete core walls are advanced early so permanent stiffness can progressively replace temporary propping.
- Approach illustrates how stiffness-matched modular propping can keep deep urban basements workable for high-rise construction.
Our Take
Groundforce Shorco’s repeat use of modular hydraulic props at 30 Marsh Wall and in the Hendon Clore Manor basement (April 2026 item) signals that London contractors are standardising on temporary works systems that can be rapidly reconfigured between tight urban sites.
With multiple recent UK Infrastructure pieces in our database featuring Groundforce Shorco, the company is emerging as a recurring specialist for complex basement and trench support, giving main contractors like Murphy Group and Tide Construction a proven supply chain option for constrained city-centre excavations.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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