Refurbishment
L’Occitane, Dublin, Ireland
Project Brief
L’Occitane is a globally recognised cosmetics and skincare brand, operating more than 80no. retail stores across the UK and Ireland.
As part of an ongoing partnership, LSY Engineering Consultants Ltd has provided structural engineering services for numerous retail refurbishment and fit-out projects throughout the UK and Ireland. Working within a variety of shopping centres, high street locations, and mixed-use developments, our role has included structural surveys, feasibility assessments, structural design, and construction support to facilitate store refurbishments and layout modifications.
Our involvement has supported the delivery of projects ranging from minor internal alterations through to significant structural modifications required to accommodate new retail concepts and branding requirements.
Challenges
Many of the projects were undertaken within live retail environments that needed to remain operational throughout the construction period. Consequently, programme certainty and rapid turnaround times were critical to minimise disruption to both retailers and the wider development.
A further challenge was the limited availability of historical building information. In many cases, archive drawings, structural records, and construction details were either incomplete or unavailable, making the determination of the existing structural arrangement an important early-stage activity.
Given the accelerated programmes typically associated with retail refurbishments, investigations and structural assessments needed to be undertaken efficiently while still providing sufficient information to develop practical and compliant engineering solutions.
Process
LSY adopted a proactive and investigation-led approach to each project, ensuring that structural risks were identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity.
Our commissions typically involved structural alterations to existing retail units, including:
- Alterations to existing shopfronts.
- Assessment of existing floors and supporting structures.
- Design of new structural steelwork and support systems.
- Formation of new openings.
- Removal of load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls.
- Structural support for revised internal layouts.
Where available, archive information and historical structural drawings were reviewed to establish the existing construction and identify potential constraints before commencing detailed design.
Where sufficient information was unavailable, LSY specified targeted intrusive investigations and opening-up works to verify the structural arrangement and confirm critical elements such as wall construction, floor build-ups, supporting steelwork, and load paths.
Following completion of the investigations, structural assessments were undertaken to evaluate the capacity of the existing building and determine the most efficient solution to support the proposed alterations.
To maximise buildability and minimise disruption during construction, lightweight structural materials were used wherever practical, including:
- Metsec cold-rolled steel systems.
- Structural steelwork.
- Timber framing.
This approach enabled faster installation, reduced handling requirements within constrained retail environments, and helped maintain programme objectives.
Outcome & Lessons Learnt
LSY’s technical expertise, practical approach, and ability to operate within demanding retail programmes have enabled the successful delivery of numerous refurbishment projects across the UK and Ireland.
Our structural engineering input has supported retail developments in locations including Edinburgh and Dublin, helping L’Occitane implement store upgrades efficiently while maintaining programme and operational requirements.
The success of these projects has led to a long-term working relationship with both L’Occitane and its delivery partners. As a direct result of our performance, LSY has secured numerous repeat commissions and ongoing appointments with Forward Contracting UK Ltd, L’Occitane’s structural contracting partner.
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