James Howlett’s achievement on this complex four-storey residential build was rooted in the technical design.
Despite the constraints of the Channel Tunnel rail link and water utility infrastructure below the site, an overground railway running just 3m away from the works, steep slopes and a nature conservancy designation, he found innovative ways to deliver.
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Howlett used load tests to identify how to build a 150m-long block safely just 4m above the railway tunnel. The technical solution, which made the project viable, was new to Telford Homes: a lightweight steel frame on a concrete raft foundation that eliminated soil movement near the tunnels. The steel frame also required a shorter programme than traditional concrete.
Logistics management was also key, with tower cranes not an option due to the proximity of the railway and the weight they would impose on the Eurostar tunnels. On the long and narrow site, Howlett coordinated mobile cranes, deliveries and services to avoid site paralysis, despite having a single access point onto a busy road.
SILVER – Carl Brierley, senior project manager, John Sisk & Son
Silver winner: Smith’s Yard, Blossom Street, Manchester
Project: Smith’s Yard, Blossom Street, Manchester
Scope: Construction of two residential blocks with 185 apartments and 14 townhouses
Programme: 103 weeks
Client: Manchester Life Development
Contract: JCT D&B 2011, with amendments
Value: £29m
Carl Brierley’s innovations on this residential development of a five-storey and an eight-storey block began with preconstruction, where he used BIM to re-engineer the structural slabs across all floors.
Other finalists
Ryan McShane MCIOB, McAleer and Rushe, Isambard Court (Block E) & Durham Wharf Drive (Block F), Brentford
Daren Milne MCIOB, McCarthy & Stone Retirement Lifestyles, Augustus House, Virginia Water
Rori Williams, WRW Construction, Gaer, Newport
Reducing slab depths cut the amount of concrete used by 10% and decreased the rebar by 40%. He eliminated over 2,000 lorry trips by crushing and reusing spoil on site.
Brierley changed the west-to-east envelope construction to a vertical wrap, with weather protection across the floorplates to achieve rapid water-tightness and release the internal fit out.
His mitigation ultimately brought project completion on time. All this despite losing five weeks of lost hook time at the start due to a faulty jib.
