CIOB Awards 2022: Residential & Accommodation

Stephen had to make other changes to keep the project on track. Part of the retained facade for one block had become unsafe, so he elected to take it apart piece by piece and rebuild it with a blockwork inner skin. When the combustibility of iroko timber fins for the facade made installing them a concern, he switched to iroko-coloured aluminium fins.

Stephen drove value by replacing precast concrete coping stones and cladding panels with glass fibre-reinforced units. Substantially lighter, they delivered cost savings and were easier to install. Likewise, his introduction of no-joint CLP piping in the 120 apartments made for easier, faster, safer installation.

Project: Lu2on phase 1, Luton
Scope: Construction of 11-storey block with 401 apartments, completed in 127 weeks
Client: Strawberry Star
Contract: JCT 2016
Value: £63m

On his first project with JJ Rhatigan, Kevin Larkin delivered a lucrative large-scale development to a high standard in a short space of time.

His use of BIM was effective and extensive, from design to quality assurance. He took site managers and subcontractors through the use of a BIM dashboard.

Changing the precast concrete lintels to lie flush with the scheme’s 1,200 windows, rather than protrude above and below, achieved buildability savings of £1.2m. He also decided decision to make 489 bathroom pods off site. This eased the critical path, saved time and cost and raised the quality bar.

The success of the project has seen the client award phase 2 – a £100m scheme with 565 apartments – to Larkin.