Archives

You are here: / / Case Studies

Advanced Engineering Centre, Bridgwater College

/in , /by

Advanced Engineering Centre, Bridgwater College


Project Details



Client:

Bridgwater College

Contractor:

KIER

Value

£7.0m

Project Summary

The architectural ideology behind the design was to capture the purpose of the building in its appearance, and produce an ‘engineered’ form. A rigorous control over the alignment of external elements drove this concept, creating continuous lines around the facades, that blend seamlessly between the curtain wall mullions through to the cladding panel joints.

Control over the internal spaces went hand in hand with this, to create an order to the primary facade’s glazing, and draw attention to the spaces within.

The internal spaces are positioned so the classroom spaces receive generous amounts daylight from the large, sloped glazing facade, whilst the workshops, with controlled lighting levels, are placed to the rear of the building.



“Good collaborative approach and great outcome.”

Key Challenges

  • Logistic plans had to be updated regularly and agreed with the College as the only site access was through the heart of the campus and routes to the main car park.
  • Very close monitoring and controls had to be introduced during piling and lifting operations.

Project Takeaways

Our Success

  • A key success for the project was to achieve completion for the new academic year despite a delayed start and without compromising the quality of the build.
  • The Advanced Engineering Centre was based on 320 driven piles to a depth of 20 metres with a suspended precast floor utilised on levels. The main structure was steel with composite cladding to roof and walling which frames the feature curtain walling to the front elevation.
  • A 1200cm attenuation system was installed under the car park as well as relocation of a grey water tank from an adjacent building

KPI’s & Statistics

  • Contractor team performance: 9/10
  • Health & Safety: 9/10
  • Quality Workmanship: 9/10
  • Progress in making good defects: 8/10
  • Collaborative approach: 9/10
  • Overall contractor approach: 9/10

East Anton Primary School

Andover, Hampshire

  • Client

    Hampshire County Council

  • Contractor

  • Value

    £13m

  • Completion Date

    October 2018

The Challenge

To minimise energy consumption and maximise occupant comfort, our team focused on the careful design of the building form and selection of materials. In particular, the layout of the proposed building features south facing classrooms with north facing clerestory glazing. This arrangement offers good opportunities for providing generous natural daylight with natural cross ventilation and effective shading from excessive solar gain.

The Solution

Willmott Dixon’s team of education experts have created a new 420 place primary school in Andover. The school provides places for students aged from 4-11 years old and is likely to expand in the future with elements already in place to accommodate this.

This arrangement offers good opportunities for providing generous natural daylight with natural cross ventilation and effective shading from excessive solar gain. The school is highly sustainable with photovoltaics on the roof which provide 10% of the building’s energy use.

The Results

The Primary school provided 420 places for students aged from 4-11 years old and is likely to expand in the future with elements already in place to accommodate this. Set within the East Anton Major Development Area (MDA) the school is being built alongside 2,850 new homes with developer Taylor Wimpey.


1


Apprentices

91.25%


SME Spend

20.5%


Added Value

10


Client Satisfaction

Client Testimonials

“We are delighted to have created this new sustainable school in Andover, creating much needed school places for the local community.”

PreviousNext

Contractor Performance | Commitments


Fair

100% of payments were made promptly and within 30 days


Sustainability

98% diverted from landfill


Safe

Zero harm


Legacy

  • Created 9 new jobs through the project
  • Career guidance events
  • Provided over 186 weeks of training onsite


Aftercare

SCF handover and aftercare process carried out

SCF Framework Manager

Kingsley Clarke

Email: kingsley.clarke@devon.gov.uk

Phone: 07805760622

Contractor Framework Manager

Guy Dawes

Email: guy.dawes@willmottdixon.co.uk

Phone: 07989 179444

Chiltern Lifestyle Centre

/in /by

Chiltern Lifestyle Centre

Amersham, Buckinghamshire


Project Details



Client

Chiltern District Council

Project Manager

Hadron Consulting

Architect

Space & Place

Contractor

BAM Construction

Value

£33.15 million

Contract Period

133 weeks

Completion Date

6 June 2022

Procurement Type

Design & Build

Form of Contract

JCT 2017

Project Summary

The new lifestyle centre has been designed to replace the 1960s Chiltern Pools Leisure Centre. The council’s aim is to bring together leisure and community services in one centre. The new building will be built alongside the existing one which will be demolished in one of the final phases.

The lifestyle centre will feature:

  • 8-lane 25m swimming pool with viewing, diving/teaching pool and splash pad area
  • Four badminton court sports hall
  • Dry diving training facility
  • Squash courts
  • Clip ‘n’ climb wall
  • Spa
  • Library
  • Café area
  • Multi use games area (MUGA) and play areas
  • Community Centre
  • Fitness and gym studios
  • Children’s soft play area
  • 221-space car park.


  • Ground Breaking Ceremony

    Attended by Cllr Walsh and Stannard and children from Lindfield Pre-School Nursery

PreviousNext
123

“The project team is extremely focused on achieving the client’s requirements. BAM and the Design Team have demonstrated a proactive collaborative approach that has built trust to enable effective delivery.”

Community Engagement


Career Development

  • Provided six work placements, spending time with the project team during preconstruction and on site shadowing the project team.
  • Our Education & Community Coordinator supported the Apprenticeship Evening at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School and a school careers event at Sir William Ramsay School.
  • Exhibited at the Bucks Skills Show
  • Our Site Manager represented BAM at a careers event at Great Marlow School.
  • A careers talk was given to Year 10 students at Aylesbury Grammar School.
  • As part of National Careers Week our Education & Community Coordinator talked about careers in the Construction Industry to Y9 at Holmer Green Senior School, before running a workshop with a Y7 Maths class which involved calculating volumes, ordering Lego bricks and building houses to show how Maths is used in the real world.

Education

  • Delivered five STEM workshops for Year 8 pupils at Aylesbury Vale Academy.

Local Support

  • Shrubs which were removed from site were donated to the local school – St Michael’s School.
  • £250 was donated to the Rotary Club of Amersham.
  • The project is using the services of Community Wood Recycling, a local social enterprise for waste transfer of wood

Exeter Science Park, Grow on Buildings

/in /by

Grow on Buildings

Exeter, Devon


Project Details



Client

Exeter Science Park Limited

Project Manager

NPS

Architect

LHC

Contractor

Kier Construction

Value

£5.7m

Contract Period

52 weeks

Form of Contract

NEC Option A

Size

17000 sqft (divided into two) & 10,000 sqft

Project Summary

The design and construction of two new science buildings in the heart of Exeter. The construction consists of a new build steel framed structure, concrete planks for floor, façade treatments carrying from curtain walling, brickwork and fenestration.

Industrial units with CAT A fit out allow for tenant’s own design.



Key Challenges

Extremely space efficient buildings. Built without compromise to a tightly defined budget, yet they’ve achieved an excellent 85% net-to-gross floor area.

Designed with carefully placed cores and primary circulation space which does not reduce the usable area. Flexible floorplans, easily divide-able with vital services already located for whichever configuration is adopted.

Since the users may have limited-time tenancies in the buildings, the space provides a significant degree of flexibility during its life to allow the building to be subdivided in a number of configurations/uses and offering everything from a single-occupier double-storey unit of 1600 sqm to 12 single-storey units of 200 sqm each.

Project Takeaways

Science Building 1

Detached unit with the following features:

  • Flexible two storey building
  • Gross area – up to 9,000 sq ft
  • Offices or Laboratory space
  • Raised floors, for floor boxes and cabling
  • Suspended ceiling with inset modern (LG7) lighting
  • Air-conditioning or natural ventilation options
  • Raised floor with anti-static covering and suspended ceiling suitable for extract systems
  • Access for the disabled, either ground floor or via lift – including Disability discrimination act compliant WC facilities
Rationale

The Grow-on spaces are the first stand-alone B1(b) Research and Development units on the Park, providing  flexible accommodation options for office and/or laboratory use.

The new build facility aimed at users who have progressed beyond the initial research stages of business, and now require larger premises to develop further, whilst remaining within the Science Park campus and its environment of innovation.

Science Building 2

The building can be delivered as either a detached standalone building or a terrace of units enabling greater flexibility, the specifications include:

    • Two storey flexible building
    • Gross area – 3,000 – 16,200 sq ft
    • Options to include self-contained terraced units or whole floors
    • Offices or laboratory space
    • Accessible rear elevation to allow the inclusion of access for larger equipment

Northgate Primary School

/in , /by

Northgate Primary School

Bridgwater, Somerset

Project Details


Client: Somerset County Council

Contractor: Kier Construction

Value: £6.7m

Contract Period: 52 weeks

Form of Contract: NEC3 Option A

SME Spend: 90.3%

Apprentices:  4 employed

Project Summary

New build 2FE primary school with nursery classes in a two-storey building with upper floor built to shell and core only to allow the school to be opened as 1FE.

Enabling works involved asbestos strip and demolition of existing hospital buildings occupying the site.



Design Intent

Kier and the design team worked collaboratively to create two alternative solutions, one of which incorporated the client’s land-swap proposal.  We worked closely with the Client and Planners to ensure that either proposal would be acceptable. Ultimately, the land deal was completed, and the Client’s preferred option was approved.

The original plan was to include two grass pitches.  The pitch specification was subsequently upgraded to include a grass pitch and an all-weather to enable community use.

The initial concept design included brick facades which was not favoured by the Planners and so we redesigned the scheme with a cladding finish that met the Planners Conditions and the Client’s budget.

Kier used our ‘fabric first’ approach to environmental performance management.  Through robust design detailing and confidence in our quality installation, we were able to increase the insulation and air-tightness of the building such that the proposed roof-mounted PV cells could be removed from the project and yet still achieve Part L/EPC building performance.

Design Development

The programme was driven by the need to achieve completion and occupation of the school to coincide with the new academic year.

During the project the Academy were chosen to run the school. Working in close collaboration with them and Somerset Council a number of changes were accommodated to allow the final layouts to be amended to suit their operational teaching requirements.

As part of the works a 4G sports pitch was installed to be shared with the local community.

Value Added

Kier were appointed to carry out the demolition of the existing buildings occupying the site and during that phase saved the crushed recycled aggregates to utilise on the new project therefore saving the client considerable sums for disposal of the waste.

The works included areas of ground remediation. This carried out in conjunction with the landscape architect, whereby levels carefully remodelled to minimise soil removals and costs.

“Excellent collaborative approach, the project team worked very well together. Very good quality of service and product.”

John Houlihan
Strategic Manager – Corporate Property
Somerset County Council

“A very impressive project showing the enthusiasm of the site team.”

Considerate Constructors Scheme
Performance Beyond Compliance
Score 42/50

BoFL Croydon Regional Centre

/in /by

HMRC

Croydon

Project Details


Client: HMRC

Project Manager: T&T

Architect: Aecom

Contractor: Mace

Value: £13.5m

Contract Period: 23 weeks

Procurement Type: 2-stage D&B

Form of Contract: JCT 2016

Size: 17,057 sqm

Apprentices: 91 training weeks

Project Summary

HMRC’s flagship centre in Croydon was devised around the people who use it at its heart – expected to reach 2,500 strong. Shortlisted for a BCO Award, the building’s space is intended to create an environment where collaboration, efficiency and innovation can thrive. The spacious interior houses working areas and secure rooms divided by airy balconies, breakout spaces and cafes. In meeting the government’s challenge of “doing more with less”, this radical new design sets the bar high in revolutionising how civil servants work.

Completed as part of a two-stage design and build to Cat B fit-out standards, the building was handed over in just 23 weeks. This was achieved by efficiently programming the fit-outs to the 10 office floors simultaneously. As testament to our approach to the delivery, the project scored a high Considerate Constructor’s Scheme score of 45/50, with acknowledgement of our team’s commitment to community engagement and providing a positive working environment.



Key Challenges

• The initial design was not sufficiently detailed to allow construction to start.
• There were a significant number of previous outstanding works and base build defects to rectify before our works could commence.
• Significant client changes were made (totaling £1m) to the originally agreed programme of works.
• The modification of the base build installations for accessible users were hindered by complexities.

Our Successes

• To tackle the outstanding base build defects and outstanding works, we provided a turnkey solution using our in-house FM company, Mace Macro to provide interim building and FM services. This enabled the base build defects and outstanding works to be carried out as part of the CAT B programme.
• To accommodate the client change, we were able to carefully reschedule and accelerate suitable work packages. This approach allowed the programme to progress to achieve the additional works required while protecting the client’s move in date, which was sacrosanct.
• A requirement was raised from some of the building’s end-users to make it more accessible to all. We held working groups to listen to their needs and adapt the base build installations accordingly, for example we were able to install automated doors in areas to improve access.

Our Learnings

• Our decision to novate the Stage 3 design was hugely beneficial in accommodating the significant number of client changes and achieving an extremely short preconstruction period on time.
• Hosting working groups for the building’s end-users to discuss any concerns and ideas to make the space more amenable to their requirements was a great success and allowed us to alter the design early to incorporate changes, for example the installation of automated doorways.

Value Added

  • In total, our employment and skills targets delivered 91 apprentice and trainee weeks.
  • £7.5k was raised by our project team for a local homeless charity.
  • Croydon College students studying construction skills were given tours of the project at each stage to give them a valuable insight into the changing dynamics of a live site.
  • 83% of project spend was made to SMEs.
  • Joinery mock-ups – We built workstation mocks during the preconstruction stage to help the client gauge the final result in terms of materials and build and make informed decisions early to make any changes.
ContractGateway 3 Contract FormationGateway 4 Project CompletionVariation
Cost£16,345,919£16,515,504+£169,585 (1%)
Time23 weeks23 weeks0

Barnet Waste Transfer

London

  • Client

    London Borough of Barnet

  • Contractor

    Willmott Dixon logo

  • Value

    £11.9m

  • Completion Date

    July 2017

Architects: Capita

Electrical: Capita

MEP: Capita

The project was a design and build development of Oakleigh Road South Vehicle Depot to create a Barnet Council vehicle depot and a base for their fleet of 46 household recyclable waste collection vehicles.

The Challenge

There were several challenges faced throughout this project. There was restricted access on a long and narrow site which caused difficulties when trying to overcome other challenges such as dealing with the below ground water, removing underground drainage structures and the buried hazardous waste.

The Solution

To overcome the narrow site, the Willmott Dixon team worked in a ‘patchwork’ fashion, sectioning off the works and moving operations around to keep the access road fully open throughout the build.

Willmott Dixon found existing sewers and then got permission from Thames Water to use them instead for the below ground water. They found a solution using a land drain pump to drain the ground water which was causing surface water.

The Results

Now built, the depot will allow Barnet Council to operate its vehicle maintenance and recycling collection fleet from single coordinated site, ensuring the most efficient service for residents across the borough. The construction also consisted of a tractor barn and car parking, together with associated ancillary facilities, a recycling waste transfer building and bulking facility, a two storey office and welfare building.


2

New Apprenticeships



Apprentices

88%


SME Spend

£1.2m

Raised levels by introducing engineered ground geotextile, saving £720k
Resulting in programme saving £110k
Added surveys resulting in reduced risk on hazardous waste, saving £205k



Added Value

9/10


Client Satisfaction

Contractor Performance | Commitments


Fair

Regular payments and payment periods did not exceed 30 days


Sustainability

Early contractor engagement realised that by raising finished floor levels by introducing an engineered ground geotextile design produced a saving of c£720k, helping significantly reduce excavated materials


Safe

Zero RIDDORs


Legacy

2 starter apprentices who went on to gain full time graduate employment


Aftercare

SCF handover and aftercare promised carried out

SCF Framework Manager

Alex Nelhams

Email: alex.nelhams@hants.gov.uk

Phone: 07717 003869

Contractor Framework Manager

Guy Dawes

Email: guy.dawes@willmottdixon.co.uk

Phone: 07989179444

Middlemoor Criminal Justice Centre

Exeter

  • Client

    Devon & Cornwall Police

  • Contractor

  • Value

    £25.2m

  • Completion Date

    February 2020

aerial shot of building

The Challenge

The main challenges relating to this project were optimising the design to meet budget and making sure the design of the custody cells were Ministry of Justice compliant.

The Solution

Early appointment formed an ‘integrated team’ newly formed with common agreed objectives were able to de-risk prior to any works commencing on site. This aided and protected final account predictability which contributed to completing on time and on budget.

Built to Ministry of Justice standards using the Yellow book design guide providing first-class accommodation for solicitors and partners has been incorporated in the design, including interview rooms and medical suites. The custody centre will use modern technology to monitor the health of vulnerable detainees and offers a virtual courts system. The linked-hub buildings provide modern office and meeting space for all operational police functions.

  • custody cells
PreviousNext
123

exterior shot of middlemoor

The Results

Completed on time and on budget. Willmott Dixon worked collaboratively with their Works Partner of the Year, Stephenson Group, to reduce the in-situ concrete frame programme by 12 weeks Exeter Police Station met all the requirements for Time, Cost and Quality achievements: defect free, on budget and handed over on time after being completed two weeks early. The project used 67% Mandated Suppliers and 82% Cat A suppliers, proving that building closer relationships builds trust and improves quality and service BREEAM Excellent certification accredited to design stage and is in UK’s top 10% sustainable buildings.


6

6 work placements and 6 ex-offenders trained in Willmott Dixon’s Building Lives Academy



Apprentices

78%

within 50 miles of the site



SME Spend

£6.3m


Added Value

10


Client Satisfaction

Client Testimonials

“In a crisis our police force has demonstrated an ability to be extraordinarily agile, and the early opening of the station is an example of that”

“There has been a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to make this happen – mostly around IT systems, and I’d like to thank those who have put in a Herculean effort to make this happen as one part of our response to this serious public health crisis.”

PreviousNext

Contractor Performance | Commitments

Fair

99% of regular payments and payment periods did not exceed 30 days

Sustainability

The facility uses 22% less energy than a traditional building of the same size, generates 68kwh of electricity a year from solar panels and carbon generated from its construction has been offset

Safe

Zero RIDDORs

Legacy

Held 100 school children visits

1,600 students engaged at career events and workshops

2 ex-military personnel joined the construction industry

Aftercare

Zero defects at handover & aftercare

SCF Framework Manager

Kingsley Clarke

Email: kingsley.clarke@devon.gov.uk

Phone: 07805760622

Contractor Framework Manager

Guy Dawes

Email: guy.dawes@willmottdixon.co.uk

Phone: 07989179444

University College London Institute of Education: 20 Bedford Way

/in /by

University College London (UCL) – Institute of Education (IoE)

20 Bedford Way

Project Details



Client
UCL

Project Manager
Arcadis

Architect
Hawkins Brown (Concept) / Mace Design (Developed / detailed)

Contractor
Mace Limited

Value
£6.9m

Contract Period
43

Procurement Type
2 stage D&B with GMP

Form of Contract
JCT D&B 2016

Size
3152 sqm

Apprentices
110 training weeks on site

Project Summary

UCL appointed Mace via the Southern Construction Framework to undertake the partial refurbishment of the existing UCL (IoE) building located at 20 Bedford Way, Bloomsbury, London.

The project delivered the first phase of an overall masterplan for the building to refurbish and extend the building over the next few years. Due to UCLs campus wide restrictions on teaching space the building had to be maintained in full operation at all times.

The Phase 1 works comprised the alteration and refurbishment of existing storage and underutilised space to create 3,152sq m of teaching, study and breakout spaces. To create the space there was an initial programme of asbestos removal works prior to undertaking significant structural alterations together with the complete renewal of the MEP systems. External upgrades to windows and roofing was also included in the scope together with the formation of a new lift shaft. The project also catered for a temporary ‘pop-up’ student bar which had to be relocated as part of the works.



“The IOE forms part of UCL’s main Bloomsbury campus, giving students, researchers and partners access to UCL’s outstanding intellectual and cultural resources.”

‘The Mace team hit the project objectives and worked well with the team all despite a challenging set of site restrictions.’

Project Competencies

Fair

Fair Payment Charter

The close working relationship between UCL and Mace ensured payment was always made within 30 days.

Sustainable

Sustainable Development Charter

The site was CCS registered and exceeded the minimum 35/50 standard.

Safe

Health & Safety Charter

The site management team were fully SMSTS accredited, with a specialist liaison officer being appointed to manage contractor / student segregation in the ‘live’ working environment.

Legacy

Legacy Charter

The project employed wherever possible local labour, including 110 shared apprentice weeks.

Community Engagement

Career Opportunities

  • 110 training weeks on site for apprentices through the project

Student Support

  • The site team helped support the student union with the provision of a temporary bar and recreational facility with the provision of surplus materials and labour

Key Challenges

Noisy working restrictions were imposed upon the works to ensure the university could maintain normal day to day operations.

Work activities were pre-planned with two week look ahead programmes being issued. This identified what works would be ‘noisy’ and these were planned within defined time slots which were agreed with the university. Generally these were first thing each morning, a period over lunchtime and then a final period at the end of the day. Maximum noise level criteria were set and the university had direct contact with the Mace team in the event of any issues.

The works had to be undertaken in a live working environment which meant that services had to be maintained to all areas at all times and students were not impacted by the works.

To prevent disruption to the day to day operation of the university, Mace structured a programme which created ‘swing space’ and where required ‘out of hours’ and weekend working. The use of ‘swing space’ allowed the works to be sub-phased enabling ‘live’ spaces to be moved and rotated thus enabling the alteration and refurbishment works to proceed. The ‘out of hours’ and weekend working were primarily used to ensure services infrastructure was maintained at all times. Typically these periods were used for services shut-downs or when works in occupied areas were required, for example the routing of services from existing plant space to the newly refurbished areas.

The existing building has Grade II* listed status which required all works to be fully approved by the planners and conservation officers from London Borough of Camden.

The Mace team worked closely with the Camden conservation team to ensure the works were undertaken sympathetically and achieved the required standards to comply with the building listing status. Schedules and trackers were prepared to monitored the works with samples and mock-ups being provided to ensure the finished works achieved the necessary statutory approvals.

Project Takeaways

Our Success

  • Collaborative team working enabled the project to proceed smoothly with all parties being clear on roles and responsibilities. The positive team working built trust and enabled decisions to be made quickly and effectively to support the overall programme.
  • The works produced a very good product which was arrived at by specifying good products, this together with the production of samples and mock-ups to ‘test’ what elements would look like and the gauge the level of quality. All of this supported the requirements to comply with listed building status.
  • The collective team agreement to establish ‘swing-space’ supported the challenging programme delivery timescales. Without this the programme could not have been sub-phased which would have meant additional time being required in the overall delivery.

Our Learnings

  • Limited time during preconstruction restricted surveys and preplanning activities. This led to level differences being discovered in the existing floor slabs. The net result being additional costs for screed and levelling. Cloud point surveys and Revit 3D modelling would overcome this going forward.
  • The concept design was in some cases inaccurate and not representative of the actual site conditions. This created redesign work to ensure that what was drawn could actually be built. Early contractor engagement from RIBA Stage 2 would have overcome this problem.
  • Despite all good plans there was on a few occasions some disruption to day to day operation of the university. Unfortunately the existing building fire alarm, whilst functional was time expired with little or no as built records. As a result this led to 2nr occasions of the alarm being triggered and the building evacuated. The scope included renewal of the fire alarm.

Value Added

  • Mace were able to demonstrate added value benefits totalling £735k across the project. Early engagement enabled input into the masterplan which helped support the client with future plans for later phases. The client instigated £2.3m of change throughout the project, Mace were able to review the programme and sequence and incorporate the change into the project without extending the project end date.

KPI’s & Statistics

ContractGateway 2 Planning Gateway 3 Contract AgreementVariation
Cost£4,693,159.00£6,999,999.0033%
Time35 weeks35 weeks0%

Apprentices: 1nr for the full duration

CCS Score: 40/50

Waste diverted from landfill: 96%

Overall End User Service: 8/10

Contact: Martin Treacy, Capital Project Manager

Email: e.m.treacy@ucl.ac.uk

Tor School – Pupil Referral Unit

/in , , /by

Tor School

Glastonbury, Somerset

Project Details



Client
Somerset County Council

Project Manager
Somerset County Council

Architect
NVB Architects

Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd

Value
£2.9m

Contract Period
47 weeks

Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage

Form of Contract
NEC3 Option A

Size
830m²

Apprentices
6

Project summary

Tor School is a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Glastonbury, one of the first fully integrated PRUs in the UK, which brings together three streams of Somerset County Council’s educational facilities. The school offers alternative educational provision for vulnerable young people who struggle in a mainstream school environment and provides facilities for Key Stages 2, 3 and 4. The PRU includes a Learning Enhancement Centre with facilities for outreach staff. Designed with the needs of the young people in mind, the building’s layout enables direct access from each classroom to dedicated external spaces. The different year groups share specialist spaces, including a breakout room with low-level lighting.

Midas constructed this single-storey, 12 classroom educational building on a design and build contract. This well-insulated building features blockwork render on all elevations with a truss timber roof and robust internal fittings designed to accommodate the specialist needs of the pupils. Midas completed groundworks including drainage and service connections, with internal works including first fix M&E, dry lining, plastering and decorations.

The client scored the project 100% in the customer satisfaction survey at practical completion and the site received a CCS Bronze 2018 National Site Award.



“We were previously a number of different centres that were brought together as one school and in February 2018 we moved into new premises. This is one of the first fully integrated PRUs in the country. As such we try to avoid labelling young people in simplistic ways and we put the needs of the child at the centre of the learning plan we develop.”

Community Engagement

Career Opportunities

  • Six apprenticeships provided through the project

Key Challenges

  • Midas completed a best value review with the client early in the preconstruction process to offer a £566k cost reduction at Gateway 3, with £676k delivered at Gateway 4 including changing the render specification, changing the external paving to tarmac and rationalising the footpaths. Midas saved the client £20k by recommending metal soffits as an alternative product with an improved lifespan and by building for longevity by using hardwood doorframes and achieving an air tightness rating of 3.6m³/hm² (below the target of 5m³/hm²).
  • The team secured the site with Heras fencing, hoarding, signage and gate control, and liaised regularly with the client team and key stakeholders of the Day Centre. To manage the restricted space, Midas negotiated use of an adjacent unpaved area between the site and the ambulance station, used for ambulance parking. Midas created a hard-standing area shared between the ambulance service and the site team during the project, providing them with a finished car park at completion of works. Midas maintained open communication with their staff holding regular update meetings to maintain this amicable relationship.
  • To manage the significant risk to operatives and the public presented by the live services, Midas commissioned a Utility Report and ground scans to provide an overlay of the site footprint and services. The team completed additional service locating procedures prior to breaking ground, with a subsurface scan of the entire site. Midas ensured operatives completed works under a permit to dig system, using site service drawings and hand-held locating equipment. The team coordinated with utility providers for solutions to mitigate the risk and made subcontractors aware of the risk through site inductions and Toolbox Talks. For diversion of the high voltage (HV) cable, the Midas Design Team, electrical engineer and services engineer, in collaboration with Western Power Distribution (WPD), designed and agreed a solution for a service diversion of the HV and low voltage (LV) cables. Midas established clear isolation zones around the buried services, using full barrier protection, with a strict no-dig rule implemented within these areas. Once WPD completed service diversions, Midas backfilled trenches to support and protect the services and reinstated protective barriers to fully segregate these areas from general construction activity. The team identified the location of diverted services using timber posts and Rhino Blocks.
  • Midas undertook detailed site investigations to mitigate project risks and amended the substructure design as a result. Whilst this increased the project duration between Gateway 2 and Gateway 3 it provided more time certainty for the construction phase

Project Takeaways

Our Successes

  • Midas came onto this project at RIBA Stage 1. The Midas Design Team used a Hazard Elimination and Management Schedule (HEMS) to identify, manage or resolve risks on the project. One of the major risks identified was the presence of live services that presented a significant risk to operatives and the public. Midas commissioned a Utility Report, stored in the Common Data Environment using 4Projects, and commissioned ground scans to provide an overlay of the site footprint and services. Midas, as the Principal Designer, reviewed solution drawings constantly; once all stakeholders concurred the best and safest solution, works proceeded as per the agreed design.
  • There was a low risk of flooding on the site. To manage the relatively high water table, Midas designed and constructed the building with a piled foundation solution.
  • The project involved unknown volumes of spoil removal with works including excavation of attenuation tanks and drainage. Midas put contingencies in place to manage this, including a provisional sum for the cost of removals to avoid any additional costs for the client. Midas monitored the volumes excavated, checked and agreed volumes and costs with the client, and reused excavated materials on site where possible.

Our Learnings

  • Wessex Water initially declined our request to connect the new building to the existing sewer system, due to the position of a drainage ditch at the rear of the site. To address this Midas negotiated and agreed with the neighbouring properties to use a tractor on their adjacent land. The site team cleared the ditch and confirmed it was not in use as drainage. Midas issued a report to Wessex Water and secured subsequent agreement to connect to the sewer.

Added Value

  • Of the total firms employed on this project, 96.2% were SMEs with 100% of the project value spent with local companies. The site employed 90% local labour, including advertising jobs through local employment vehicles that led to two full time placements.
  • The team remained on site for two weeks after practical completion to assist with the handover process, resolve any outstanding snagging issues during the building’s initial use and for client services. The Midas team maintained constant communication with the Head Teacher during this period to resolve any issues and ensure a smooth handover.

KPI’s & Statistics

ContractGateway 2 Planning Gateway 3 Contract Agreement Variation
Cost£2,949,492£2,901,181-£48,311
(-0.3%)
Time34 weeks38 weeks4 weeks
(11.8%)

KPI Graphs

Apprentices 6
Graduates 1
Average AIR 0
Average CCS score 40.5
Waste diverted from landfill 92.1%
Cost/m2 £3,502m²
Cost/m2 excl abnormals £2,347m²