Gold: Bill Taylor MCIOB, Beard Construction
Project: St Peter’s College Chapel, Radley College, Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Scope: Extension and reordering of Grade II*-listed chapel, completed in 112 weeks
Client: Radley College
Contract: JCT 2016
Value: £4.2m
The multiple subcontractors for the bespoke design were smoothly assembled by Bill Taylor into a collaborative team. The interfaces were many and complex. Take the new sanctuary’s marble floor, for instance. It lines up with the hand-made bricks of the wall, which slots between stone arches that line up with the intricate timber ceiling, which fits the glass lantern precisely, which in turn is surrounded by hand-made 42kg lead tiles.
Other finalists
Azir Ali Wates, Royal College of Surgeons England, London
Thomas Biggins MCIOB Conamar Building Services, 16 Chart Street, London N1
Robert Brazier MCIOB Pexhurst, Unit A, Woolborough Lane, Crawley
Patrick Coyle McAleer & Rushe, Everards Printworks, Bristol
Ruslan Khisamutdinov MCIOB Durkan, Lisgar Terrace phase 5, London W14
Bill had the new sanctuary’s octagonal roof made off site. And BIM coordinated the design with the concrete frame and brickwork. Made in timber to complement the hammerbeam trussed structure of the existing chapel, the new roof was tied together with a stainless-steel strap around the perimeter.
He altered the detail of the sanctuary’s vaulted ceiling and arches from traditionally built brick vaults and solid stone to a lightweight brick-slip system supported by secondary steel. This reduced costs by £200,000 and improved buildability. He also devised temporary support to leave a huge stained-glass window in place, as the wall beneath was manually removed to make the opening into the new sanctuary.
Silver: Francisco Javier Fernandez Nuevo MCIOB, Knight Harwood
Project: British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London W1
Scope: Refurbishment of Grade II-listed building and addition of fourth storey, completed in 66 weeks
Client: BAFTA
Contract: Design and build
Value: £30m
This scheme was to refurbish a Grade II-listed building built in 1883 and add a new storey. And Javier Fernandez Nuevo repeatedly showed the power of innovative thinking.
His biggest win was to change the lifting methodology for the existing steel frame supporting two heritage rooflights. He jacked up the rooflight frame from below, using the existing internal birdcage steel for bracing, rather than hanging the frame from a temporary steel structure before lifting it into place.
And he avoided the need to redesign the services by rotating the metal grid to support the plasterboard for the ceiling.
A collaborative manager and an excellent communicator, Javier hugely impressed the client.
