Known as the Hotel Brooklyn, the six-storey building has 191 guest rooms located on the upper four floors, while the ground floor level is predominantly taken up by a car park and retail units. Sandwiched in between, the first floor of the hotel will boast 3,300m² of reception, lounge and dining areas, as well as a business centre and lobby areas. This floor is directly connected to the Leicester Tigers rugby ground’s Holland & Barrett stand via a 28m-long curved pedestrian bridge. This was assembled onsite and then lifted into place as one 28m-long curved structure. Although it ties into both the new hotel and the existing grandstand, the bridge is an independent structure, supported by four columns.
Caunton Engineering also fabricated, supplied and erected the steel for the construction of the grandstand in 2009 – see Caunton web site news 5 February 2009
link.. Mimicking the design of this grandstand, the front of the atrium, at the widest point between the two hotel wings, features a large glazed facade. The glazing is supported by a series of 20m-long × 1.5m-deep horizontal curved trusses that span between the wings. With the glazing positioned externally to the trusses, these steelwork elements help the façade resist wind loadings. Adding some drama to the design, as well as creating a visual highlight, they are left exposed within the completed project and are suspended from the roof via two CHS hangers.