Residential over 7 storeys
Gold – Paul Marlow, McAleer & Rushe Contracts
Project: Unite, Angel Lane, Stratford: Construction of student tower block, completed in 166 weeks
Value: £31m
Contract: In-house, plus JCT for the social apartments
Late land purchase delayed this already tightly timetabled scheme for a 14-storey complex of 759 student flats by a seemingly disastrous two months. Rather than glumly informing the client – which needed the original completion date to fall in with the start of the academic year – and asking for an extension of time, Marlow looked for solutions.
His switch from a post-tensioned concrete frame to reinforced in-situ addressed the programme challenge. But the critical move was his adoption of 7,000 sq m of Gebrik lightweight brick cladding for the facade. It eliminated extensive tower-crane hook time required by a precast solution as it could be installed from scaffold, mast climbers and cradles.
Marlow also smoothly incorporated 30 large copper pop-outs in the facade through a series of design coordination workshops.
Just as noteworthy was his effective management of the extensive liaison required with the railway operators and utilities. Live rail lines ran less than 6m from the site, and the operator required 24/7 access for its maintenance teams. Meanwhile, with no more power capacity available locally for the project, electricity had to come in from a mile away.
Marlow not only hit the completion deadline, but delivered a building with the wow factor. The aesthetics and the quality of finish were both exceptional. As a result of his efforts on this job, the client has awarded three further large-scale contracts to McAleer & Rushe.
Silver – David Rowsell MCIOB, Wates Construction
Project: Pure Aldgate, London: 19-storey student accommodation block completed in 18 months
Value: £29m
Contract: D&M
Come what may, the programme on this project to construct a 19-storey student accommodation block simply had to be met. With the full force of David Rowsell’s energetic management behind it, that’s exactly what happened.
When delays hit demolition, he took the pressure off his own enablement works by regularly meeting the contractor and getting his own temporary works incorporated with the ground works.
Roswell continually delivered efficiencies. He had 19 storeys of superstructure on a small footprint, pod installation and precast concrete cladding on his plate. He enabled a two-crane strategy by developing a slipform core that allowed top-out ahead of the floor plates and siting the second crane on the roof. It allowed the critical construction activities to overlap.
With mast climbers not viable for access, Roswell installed cradles at floor 12 to allow the external cladding to begin while he was still finishing the frame. He made further programme (and quality) gains from changing the in-situ concrete columns to precast with Stairmaster stairs.
Rowsell achieved the client’s cost plan by taking £2m out of the cladding by dropping the unitised original solution for a semi-prefabricated version. Building the inner steel-framed panels and window line before the precast cladding, constructing them at their floorplate and lifting them into position, he got the internal fit-out started faster as well.
And he didn’t ignore the expectations of the other stakeholders. When the designers wanted to add five colour variations to the external terracotta baguettes, he agreed, knowing it was crucial for them and would enhance the look and feel of the facade.
Residential 7 storeys and under
Gold – Ciaran Tiffney ICIOB, McAleer & Rushe Contracts
Project: 73 Great Peter Street, Westminster: 24 apartments in a seven-storey block in central London
Value: £9.3m
Contract: JCT D&B 2011
This project to build 24 apartments in a seven-storey block completely covered the entire site footprint. What’s more, it was in a busy central London location, a stone’s throw from parliament. Logistics, health and safety, methodology and site facilities were all constrained – only one elevation was accessible – and required firm direction.
Tiffney provided it. Site cabins not an option? He sourced local offices close to the site for the office and welfare facilities. Servicing the site without storage? He put in a tower crane to lift materials to their intended final location.
But the thorniest issue of all was how to construct the handmade brick facade of a high-end residential building with multiple coursing styles and stepped recesses. Tiffney decided early on that it would be difficult achieving the required precision on such a complex facade using traditional bricklaying.
Downtime due to bad weather and a programme that couldn’t cope with site-laid bricks, plus the lack of space for scaffolding, were also factors. His selection of a precast panel system, made offsite and installed in sections by the onsite tower crane, delivered quality, safety and programme.
The scheme showcased Tiffney’s work ethic, leadership by example and determination. If he wouldn’t do it himself, he didn’t ask his subcontractors to take it on. He didn’t rule with a rod of iron or shout louder than everyone else, but gained respect by his own respectful management. He didn’t punish or belittle those who made mistakes, but did demand that everyone gave their best. The result? A project that delivered quality and budget ahead of programme.
Silver – Lawrence Baxter MCIOB, Wates Group
Project: Phase 1, Erith Park Regeneration, Kent: Phase 1 of brownfield regeneration, delivering 342 homes
Value: £120m
Contract: Bespoke development agreement
On the first phase of this regeneration scheme to demolish five 1960s tower blocks on an undulating brownfield site and replace them with 584 homes, the client suggested that Lawrence Baxter had achieved the impossible.
The “impossibility” arose from the government funding conditions imposed. Half of the first phase’s 342 homes had to be delivered by the financial year end, 16 months before the end of the contract. Baxter was the only construction manager out of all those who tendered who would commit to this deadline. He convinced the client he could pull it off, and then delivered.
The client didn’t just get 169 units midway through the contract, but more than 230. In fact, the entire contract was delivered 40 weeks early.
Baxter’s success stemmed from his clear focus on the critical path and appointment of a programming expert. At the same time as he was executing a cut and fill of 30,000 sq m of hazardous soil, he was recycling the vast quantities of waste concrete from the tower blocks’ demolition and constructing the new homes.
His early and highly detailed programme development allowed for flexibility in the construction phase. And when those “impossible” verdicts started ringing uncomfortably loud in his ears as the first-tranche handover deadline approached, he changed the roof from a traditional build to a modular prefabricated one.
That success is clear from the client’s confirmation of Wates’ appointment to phase 2 – as long as Baxter remains on the project.
