Neil Lock is the 40th Construction Manager of the Year
Neil Lock of Wates is Construction Manager of the Year 2018 after successfully delivering a technically complicated, high-profile and visually stunning project at one of the world’s most famous museums.
He was presented with the accolade at a grand ceremony last night at Grosvenor House on Park Lane, London.
The overall winner of the Chartered Institute of Building’s annual awards, in its 40th edition, was project manager for an extension of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
The V&A’s new courtyard on Exhibition Road
The new gallery, courtyard space and entrance on Exhibition Road in South Kensington were delivered within the historic facades of the museum.
The extension required a vast excavation below the museum for the colossal 1,100 sq m columnless basement gallery.
The logistical challenges alone were daunting, involving 6,000 lorry movements through a single entrance onto a major London road.
The 16m-deep basement required a full-perimeter secant wall piled 25m deep, installed just two metres away from priceless artefacts in grade I-listed buildings. Just 20mm of movement for the existing masonry structure was allowed during the basement excavation and 5mm during the piling.
The new basement is the largest columnless gallery in Europe, which meant installation of 40m-long single-span steel trusses weighing 12 tonnes apiece. Another structural challenge was the outside courtyard cafe created from 5m-wide structural glazing, curved and slotted into an existing stone facade.
Lock overcame all of these technical and logistical hurdles while accommodating some 1,000 change requests.
‘A challenging, high profile project’
CIOB president Chris Soffe said: “The CIOB’s Construction Manager of the Year Award is a significant one. We know that those in construction often stay in the sector for the duration of their career and acknowledging those at the peak of their profession is important. The skills of all the medal winners have been tested to the limit and I congratulate all of them.
"But this years’ winner has achieved something truly remarkable. A challenging, high-profile project, pulled off with skill, expertise and great leadership is rightly being recognised. It’s an inspiration and a great example of why people come into our industry – how many people will look at a unique building like the V & A and be able to say ‘I helped build that’.”
CIOB chief executive Chris Blythe said: “CMYA has always been a unique barometer for management, and leadership, talent in our sector and in our 40th year it’s been no exception. We’ve had professionals working on projects of all shapes and sizes challenging for a place as a medal winner. Competition was fierce but Neil stood out for the judges with an outstanding combination of technical expertise, professionalism and brilliant communication skills.”
Gavin Heaphy MCIOB, head judge, public and infrastructure Category, commented: “As a CMYA judge, it is an honour and a privilege to spend time with some remarkable people, delivering remarkable projects. This year’s competition has been fierce to say the least. We have seen exceptional work from true construction professionals, leading teams to great heights of performance, providing clients with buildings and outcomes beyond expectations.
"Neil has demonstrated these qualities in spades. Taking all the needs of the V&A London into account, keeping a world leading collection open to the public while creating truly complex engineering and a wonderful building at the same time takes enormous effort. Neil led a team with tenacity and skill to do just that. He can count himself among the best in the business with the Construction Manager of the Year Award. Well done Neil!”
John F Kane FCIOB, another of the CMYA judges, said: “Neil delivered this incredibly challenging project which wowed the judges with its complex geometries, sensitive neighbours and logistical challenges: all overcome by a committed and professional project leader who delivered with exceptional results.
“Neil’s character shows all of the attributes that one would wish to see when considering entrusting the safety and wellbeing of one of the world’s greatest museums to an individual. He is a true building professional, who carried his team on a journey through the process of delivering this incredible project. He has demonstrated an ability to take into account the needs of the client, the public and all the manifold stakeholders without losing sight of the “big picture” or the priorities of each.”
Project details
- V&A Museum, South Kensington, London
- Demolition of existing buildings, and construction of gallery, courtyard and new entrance. Gallery works included full-perimeter secant piled wall, excavation of 16m-deep basement, and installation of a 40m full-width truss to create the largest columnless gallery in Europe.
- Completed in 166 weeks.
- Contract: GC Works 2011
- Value: Tender £29m, final contract £38m
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This gentlemans skill, expertise and great leadership calibre should be captured and harnessed to the future training of Construction Managers to lead the modern construction Industry thru the 21st century and onwards.
Lose him at your peril.