Tim Hare wins Construction Manager of the Year 2012

Tim Hare won the CMYA 2012 for his work on Quadrant 3 in central London

Tim Hare of Sir Robert McAlpine was last night named as the CIOB’s Construction Manager of the Year 2012, awarded the honour for the outstanding achievement of delivering a complex project four months early and under budget.

Hare took the gold medal in the New Build and Renovation Over £100m category for the mixed-use Quadrant 3 project near Regent Street, and was asked by awards host Hazel Irvine whether the pressure mounts with the value of the project.

His reply was a modest “no”. “With a larger project, you tend to have a larger team. My respect goes to some of the younger medallists on smaller projects, who would have had to take on much more themselves.”

And asked whether working in the congested Soho and Piccadilly areas of London presented problems, he said that he enjoyed the Soho vibe and “working next to [jazz club] Ronnie Scott’s”.

The multi-award winning Quadrant 3 project, for The Crown Estate and development manager Stanhope, involved demolition behind a retained facade, and innovative temporary works that allowed the basement to be deepened during the demolition.  

Sharing a joke with host Hazel Irvine

The office element of the scheme was delivered to such a high degree of sustainability that Hare and his team were commended by former US vice president and climate change activist Al Gore, whose company leased the top floor.

The project, which commenced in 2008, was also ahead if its time in utilising BIM, which Hare said was “one of his things”. “It’s part of the reason the project was delivered early. We didn’t have to do anything again – we didn’t cut a single hole in a single piece of steelwork.”

Hare also said that hand-picking his team to combine younger people’s enthusiasm with the experience of older staff benefited the project, as did having 25% women in the Sir Robert McAlpine team.

The 60-year-old won the honour after being a CMYA finalist on two previous occasions. He was on the podium in 2003 for 30 Gresham Street in the City of London, and for New Street Square near Chancery Lane in 2009. “I only work on the Central Line,” he joked.

He has now moved on to another Central Line project – to deliver another high-profile office project in the City.

For details of all the gold and silver medallists in all the CMYA categories visit www.cmya.co.uk