Archives
Oakmoor School
The Challenge
The school, previously known as Bordon Secondary School needed to meet the requirements of 900 school places and relocate from the eastern side of town to a more central location for children in both Bordon and neighbouring Whitehill. In 2015, Bordon and Whitehill were selected by the NHS’s Healthy New Towns scheme in hopes to develop a healthier environment, a strong sense of community and better care services within the local area. It was therefore imperative that the new school included facilities that would boost the children’s well-being.
Due to constricting budget restraints, it was crucial that Kier worked closely with Hampshire County Council’s team and maintained consistent communication throughout the project to help bring their dream school to life.
The Solution
In order to create a modern and cohesive learning environment that satisfies the councils’ design, a proposal was approved for a collegiate style campus with four separate buildings connected by a central courtyard. This courtyard was intended to be a social and teaching hub, therefore encouraging a positive and well-connected community.
As part of the town’s Healthy Living Masterplan, extensive consultation with Sport England was carried out to devise a diverse range of facilities that could be used by the children all year round, therefore encouraging activity. The school was built in an area easily accessible for residents of Bordon and Whitehill, acting as a gateway to intertwine the communities.
To prioritise sustainability, the project adopted a low-energy, fabric-first strategy by making the most of the surrounding and historical Woolmer Forest. This resulted in the school possessing beautiful views of nature, boosting student and faculty morale. Additionally, a large expanse of PV panels on the southern teaching wing’s roof provides 10% of the school’s energy requirements.
The Results
The new Oakmoor School is a modern building with two-storey teaching wings spanning from the central courtyard, with school halls and sports halls at either end. The covered courtyard effectively reduces internal floor area and prevents the corridors from becoming overcrowded. Additionally, entrances to teaching wings are defined by staircases, once again minimising the volume of students within corridors. Passing through the courtyard promotes a healthier lifestyle as students and teachers will get a breath of fresh air while traveling easily between classes.
86.4%
SME Spend
£362,000
Added Value
8.6
Client Satisfaction
Contractor Performance | Commitments
Fair
Sustainability
10% energy requirements from green energy
Safe
Zero RIDDORs
Legacy
900 academy places
Aftercare
Handover & Aftercare Contractor Promise
SCF Framework Manager
James Wright
Email: james.wright@hants.gov.uk
Phone: 07761 330560
Contractor Framework Manager
James Parr
Email: james.parr@kier.co.uk
Phone: 07794218011
Oceansgate
Oceansgate
Plymouth, Devon
Project Details
Client
Plymouth City Council
Project Manager
AECOM
Architect
Form Design Group
Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd
Value £6.1m
Contract Period
63 weeks
Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage
Form of Contract
JCT Design & Build 2011
Size 3,000m²
Apprentices
13
Project Summary
Oceansgate is the UK’s first marine enterprise zone, occupying a 35 hectare site on the southern edge of Devonport Dockyard, one of the largest naval dockyards in Europe. Delivering new opportunities and economic regeneration to a deprived area of Plymouth, Oceansgate has transformed derelict land into a site that aims to bring together marine-based businesses to create a world-class hub for industry. The development, designed by local architects, uses a layout and materials that
reflect the area’s naval history.
The project features a three-storey office and two single-storey industrial terraces, arranged in parallel rows and offering nearly 3,000m² of office and industrial space with provision for up to 21 businesses. Completed to a high standard, the finished buildings are steel portal frame with brickwork and blockwork, curtain walling and power floated concrete slabs; they feature fibre connectivity and internal floor layouts that can be subdivided to suit tenant requirements. Externally, Midas completed car parking, access roads and planting to improve the site’s appearance and ecology.
The development has been shortlisted in the ‘Regeneration’ category of the 2019 South West RICS awards and was shortlisted for ‘John Bracey Building of the Year’ in the 2018 The Building Forum Awards.
“Oceansgate occupies a 35 hectare site on the southern edge of Devonport Dockyard, one of the largest naval dockyards in Europe.”
Community Engagement
Career Opportunities
Key Challenges
The project had demanding site conditions, including the discovery of underground wells, basements, oil and asbestos
Prior to commencement of works, Midas reviewed all Ordnance Survey maps of the area and commissioned a ground penetrating radar scan of the site for unexploded ordnance, as Devonport Dockyard was heavily targeted for bombing during World War Two. During excavation works the team discovered several voids including basements, bank vaults and foundations of buildings destroyed during the Blitz. Midas pumped 400 tonnes of Type 1 granular fill compactable material into the holes, solid enough for the 55-tonne crane to sit on, and filled other excavations with concrete. The site fenced off excavations, with a vehicle controller in place to guide operations of plant and excavation machinery, and tested the ground for stability before each stage of the works. The team completed excavations under close, careful management, utilising remote compactors over the arches and basements to avoid risk to operators.
The development had a challenging, innovative design that included a kinetic wall, the first of its kind in the West Country
Midas joined this design and build project at RIBA Stage 2. The innovative design included use of a kinetic wall to reflect light and move with the wind, and random rubble stone cladding to some elevations. Midas constructed the kinetic wall, which is nearly six metres wide and over seven metres high, with 1,786 aluminium shingles affixed to steel wires attached to a full-height screen over the main entrance. It is the first of its kind in the west country and provides a distinctive feature of the development. Midas completed and connected the gable ends of the buildings early in the project, adjusting the programme to mitigate this requirement and completing the gable ends as soon as possible to make the buildings watertight and enable progression of interior works. Internally, the structural grid and division walls were designed to be easily combined to provide larger floor plates to respond to market interest.
The client required achievement of BREEAM Excellent
Midas successfully achieved BREEAM Excellent through provision of bicycle storage; attaining a lower Building Emission Rate than the Target Emission Rate; and installation of one bat box, one bird box and one bee brick on each building. Midas fitted a PV array to the roof of the office, with an estimated annual generation of 19,616.00kWh and a declared net capacity of 20.00kWh. The team also planted verges and trees, improving the site’s ecology, and achieved a 98% recycling figure, with demolition waste sent for reprocessing and reuse.
Project Takeaways
Our Success
- Midas liaised with the neighbouring Ministry of Defence (MOD) site in advance of commencing works to coordinate logistics and ensure the site kept MOD access clear at all times. The site employed several gate controllers and traffic managers to ensure safe site access, with radio-linked site management teams.
- The site contained multiple underground services, including a gas governor and electrical transformer. During excavation works the site team uncovered more than 130 services, not included on any plans or surveys, including underground external drainage. The team hand dug excavations to expose cables and arranged for the isolation of services, with utilities proved dead before works proceeded. Midas included a service grid system over the site survey, overlaid on a plan of the new buildings.
- The project had restricted site access that presented challenging logistics, which had a significant impact on the construction programme. Midas mitigated this by utilising weekend working and employing a high volume of staff, including increasing the number of managers on site.
Our Learnings
Value Added
KPI’s & Statistics
| Contract | Gateway 2 Planning | Gateway 3 Contract Agreement | Variation |
| Cost | £5,809,000 | £5,425,000 | -£384,000 (-6.6%) |
| Time | 48 weeks | 48 weeks | 0 weeks |
KPI Graphs KPI Graphs Apprentices 13
Average AIR 0
Average CCS score 40
Waste diverted from landfi ll 98.9%
Cost/m2 £3,837m²
Cost/m2 excl abnormals £3,017m²
Cost/m2 Industry average £ m²
Nexus Training and Production
Surrey County Council
Project Team
Architect
HGP Architects
Civil Engineer
Lyons O’Neill
The Challenge
As part of its global expansion, L3 commissioned a new £40m training and production facility on a site owned by Surrey County Council just a few miles from Gatwick Airport. The Nexus Training and Production Facility is critical for the UK’s aviation industry, as it will attract huge amounts of inward investment.
Engineering solutions were required due to the ground contamination and temporary works were needed on the existing retaining wall which made meeting the programme end date a challenge.
The Solution
Willmott Dixon deployed a team of commercial building specialists to create the exact conditions needed for the fixed-based simulators as well as briefing rooms, classrooms, meeting rooms and a restaurant.
To meet the challenge of having a fully operational facility by summer 2019 an experienced management team were on hand to ensure any requests for changes were accommodated and fitted into a complex building schedule, making sure the 60,000 square foot facility came in on schedule.
The Results
The project involves creating two rather special buildings. The first is a global centre for excellence in airline training and houses eight flight simulators, each costing £12m. It also includes a number of fixed-based simulators plus briefing rooms, classrooms, meeting rooms and a restaurant.
The second building, opposite, is a similarly sized facility to manufacture 30 simulators a year and be a base for more than 300 employees.
6
Apprentices
96.8
SME Spend
£5.6m
Added Value
9/10
Client Satisfaction
Client Testimonials
Contractor Performance | Commitments
Fair
99%
Sustainability
Waste diverted from landfill: 99%
Solar power was used to power temporary site accommodation
Safe
Zero Harm
Legacy
Shortlisted for LABC awards 2020
Safety tours undertaken on for local school children
Aftercare
Handover and aftercare process followed
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
New Addington Leisure Centre
London Borough of Croydon
Project Team
Civil Engineer: Enginuiti
Architect: GT3
Project Manager: Gleeds
The Challenge
The new multi-level site was designed to transform the western side of Central Parade in New Addington, Croydon to provide community spaces, state of the art sports facilities and eight new family homes running parallel with the swimming pool, separated only by a considered designed structural wall.
Local businesses needed to maintain ‘business as usual’ so Willmott Dixon undertook and deployed a extremely detailed logics phased plan.
The Solution
The new flexible space features two multi-purpose halls, a cafe, meeting rooms, offices and dressing rooms, with an option of licence applications for booked events.
The facility provides:
- Community Halls
- Community Cafe
- Six lane 25 m pool with spectator seating for up to 150 people
- Learner pool
- Wet changing village
- Large fitness gym incorporating a spin studio
- Dry change facilities
- Multipurpose studios (Fitness and community)
- Indoor four court sports hall with associated changing facilities
- Public realm upgrades
The Results
Overall, the project helped create over 75 jobs for local Croydon residents and was where Willmott Dixon held their first Building Lives Academy. This was an initiative to upskill young people in Croydon and provide them with valuable construction experience and gain qualifications within the industry.
The development has provided high quality leisure and community facilities which is a significant improvement on the previous facilities in the area.
The project won the RICS Social Impact 2020 award in recognition of the positive impact Building Lives has made on the community.
The team also helped facilitate the Christmas lights switch on in New Addington, not only donating funds to the charity but helped create their own Santa’s Grotto in the local community.
4
Apprentices
96.2%
SME Spend
17.7%
Added Value
9
Client Satisfaction
Client Testimonials
Contractor Performance | Commitments
Fair
Regular payments and have payment periods not exceeding 30 days
Sustainability
99% of waste diverted
Safe
CCS Score 40
Legacy
RICS Social Impact 2020 award won in recognition of the positive impact Building Lives has made on the community.
Helped facilitate the Christmas lights switch on in New Addington. The team not only donated funds to the charity but helped create their own Santa’s Grotto in the local community.
Aftercare
Handover & Aftercare Contractor Promise
SCF Framework Manager
James Wright
Email: james.wright@hants.gov.uk
Phone: 07761 330560
Contractor Framework Manager
Guy Dawes
Email: Guy.Dawes@Willmottdixon.co.uk
Phone: 07989179444
Barton Farm
Winchester, Hampshire
Awards
RIBA Awards 2022
Shortlisted
AJ Architecture Awards 2021
School category – Shortlisted
SPACES Awards 2021
Highly Commended
Civic Trust Awards 2022
Project Team
Project Manager: Hampshire County Council
Architect: Hampshire County Council (Property Services)
Civil Engineering: Hampshire County Council (Property Services)
The Challenge
Due to the 2,000 new homes being built as part of the Kings Barton development, there was a requirement for additional school places for the local area.
The project presented a challenging cost plan and was a very intricate, detailed and customer led design.
Unfortunately the project was put on hold for 12 months due to the housing developer not being as advanced as first anticipated, which meant the school placements weren’t needed as early as first though. With the project being pushed back a year, the planning had expired by the time the project was up and running again.
The Solution
By aligning with the school’s high standards for environmental sustainability and quality, Willmott Dixon were able to create an environment where children will learn and flourish which is aspirational, inclusive and joyful.
The School’s design is based on sustainable, low energy, fabric-first principles achieving BREEAM Excellent rating with: wild flower green roof; PV’s, natural ventilation; surface water drainage managed on site with porous surfaces; bio-diverse landscape areas in courtyards; and rainwater recycling for flushing wc’s and landscape irrigation.
The design also incorporated future planning and infrastructure for a future 1FE expansion and a Teacher Development Facility.
The Results
The architecturally striking school, designed by Hampshire County Council’s award-winning Property Services Team, features a main hall, holistic music and drama studio, ‘discovery point’ library, staff room and workspace, administration offices, and classrooms offering a high quality learning environment.
The school is one of the most sustainable schools in Hampshire and it has created over 400 new school places.
A key part of the success of this project was the customer welcoming early supply chain input and engaging in collaborative working practices.
4
Apprentices
£250,000.
SME Spend
£900k
Added Value
8.3
Client Satisfaction
Contractor Performance | Commitments
Fair
Regular payments and have payment periods not exceeding 30 days
Sustainability
99% of target waste diverted
Safe
Zero RIDDORs
CCS Score 41
Legacy
4 Apprenticeships
140 Apprenticeship weeks
Aftercare
Handover & Aftercare Contractor Promise
SCF Framework Manager
Contractor Framework Manager
Guy Dawes
Email: guy.dawes@willmottdixon.co.uk
Phone: 07989 179444
Marlborough Primary and Special School
The Marlborough Primary and Special School project overseen by main contractor Mace saw the redevelopment by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to provide a new two form entry primary school in the heart of Chelsea. It has seen the old unsuitable Victorian school building on the site demolished and the construction of a new Marlborough Primary School.
The Challenge
- Complex site logistics as the site was landlocked – bounded on two sides by roads and party walls on the two gable ends.
- Demolition and partial salvage of the existing Victorian structure, including removal of large quantities of asbestos.
- Construction and relocation of the existing school onto an adjacent warehouse property, as well as move-management from temporary school back to new building.
- Working restrictions such as delivery times, construction nuisance (noise, vibration and dust) and quiet times dictated by RBKC planners are an added challenge.
The Solution
Robust strategies were agreed with suppliers and RBKC highways. Utilising an online booking system with additional on-site traffic marshals and suspension of adjacent parking bays to create a holding pit-lane. Together with detailed method statements submitted and approved by the adjacent party wall surveyors.
Prior to any demolition works being undertaken careful planning took place including surveys such as R&D to determine the extent of asbestos material.
Careful planning and development works were undertaken in conjunction with the school to ensure the temporary school met their teaching requirements. A detailed time/motion study was also undertaken to ensure the school was moved with the minimal of fuss.
Construction stage management plans including logistics and community engagement were delivered which fully document how liaison with local residents was undertaken together with arrangements to control construction nuisance.
The Results
- The final logistics strategy agreed during early preconstruction stage brought all-round benefits – zero complaints or delays.
- The project received many awards including the prestigious 2018 RIBA National Award.
- Logistics strategy agreed as part of the 2-stage early engagement led to added value savings of £650k.
4
Apprentices
£650k
Added Value
8/10
Client Satisfaction
Client Testimonials
Contractor Performance | Commitments
Sustainability
The project was able to reclaim more than 80,000 bricks from the demolition of the original school building.
98% waste diverted from landfills
Fair
Financial management was proactively managed for the duration of the contract.
Safe
To ensure the works did not unduly impact local residents, a Section 61 Agreement was obtained with specific agreements on working hours, delivery times and construction nuisance.
Legacy
Both Mace and the supply chain provided extensive apprentice opportunities through appointment of an employment/skills manager and charter.
Aftercare
The handover plan, developed during preconstruction, ensured we adequately programmed and resourced RBKC’s handover requirements, this included a detailed handover checklist for our team.
SCF Framework Manager
James Wright
Email: james.wright@hants.gov.uk
Phone: : 07761 330560
Contractor Framework Manager
David Chambers
Email: david.chambers@macegroup.com
Phone: 07789 514895
National College for Nuclear
National College for Nuclear
Bridgwater, Somerset
Project Details
Client
Bridgwater & Taunton College
Project Manager
Bridgwater & Taunton College
Architect
Austin Smith Lord LLP
Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd
Value
£7.1 million
Contract Period
56 weeks
Procurement Type
2 stage open book
Form of Contract
JCT Design & Build 2011
Size
2,690m²
Project Summary
The multi-award winning National College for Nuclear (NCfN) is a flagship nuclear training centre offering classrooms, simulators and practical training facilities. The innovative NCfN is transforming teaching in this sector to meet the demands of this growing industry. The state-of-the-art educational spaces include virtual reality (VR) and reactor simulator suites, computer labs, training classrooms and workshops; and the campus offers staff facilities, a gymnasium, social area and changing amenities.
Midas completed this design and build project to BREEAM Excellent, constructing a pair of two-storey buildings with an enclosed link bridge at the college’s live Cannington Campus. Works included a lift shaft; fit out; mechanical, electrical and plumbing works; raised access flooring; and external infrastructure works including roads, paving and landscaping. Internally, Midas provided high capacity Wi-Fi coverage, floor boxes for power and fixed data ports to each room and the curtain batten to the perimeter of the VR suite.
The NCfN won “Project of the Year (over £5m)” and was shortlisted for “Education Project of the Year” in the 2018 Michelmores Property Awards; won “Best Educational Building” in the 2018 Somerset Building Control Partnership Awards; and won “Digital Construction Project / Initiative of the Year” in the 2018 Constructing Excellence South West Awards.
“The National College for Nuclear (Southern Hub) has been a great success for the College providing superb flexible training facilities for our students. The feedback from staff and students has been excellent and the building has also been recognised to date by being shortlisted for five awards of which it has won three, a superb result. These results were achieved through an excellent relationship between the main contractor Midas, the College and the members of the design team that has produced an award winning building, built on budget and to meet the clients timescales for occupation. “
Community Engagement
Career Opportunities Supporting Local Businesses
46% of people who worked on the project lived within 30 miles of the site.
Key Challenges
The construction site could only be accessed through the live campus.
To safely manage site access through the operational campus, Midas worked with the college during the preconstruction stage to agree management of site access through the live college and to agree suitable delivery time and size restrictions with a strict delivery protocol, including employing a full time gate controller located at the college entrance to direct site traffic and keep the site gates closed. At the start of the works the team erected Heras fencing to low risk areas and solid hoarding at high risk areas.
During the construction stage Midas carried out site weekly logistic meetings with the client and liaised frequently with the college staff, programming works to their convenience to mitigate disruption and maintaining a positive working relationship.
It was essential that the live college had uninterrupted service provision and campus access during term times.
Midas ensured the college had continuous services and undisturbed, safe campus access for staff and students by completing infrastructure and service works during weekends, with works involving disconnection of the power completed outside of the college’s operational hours. Midas maintained access and egress through the campus and confirmed quiet periods with the college, planning noisy works outside of exam times and keeping them to a minimum. The team completed all high-risk works during college holidays.
The client required the project delivered to BREEAM Excellent.
The project successfully achieved BREEAM Excellent through measures including: installation of 52 roof mounted solar PV panels with an area circa 300m²; fitting of energy efficient lifts; formation of bicycle storage; use of eco site cabins with EPC ratings; diversion of 98.9% of waste from landfill; and recycling 97% of materials. All inert excavated or demolished materials remained on site and the team donated surplus materials, such as bricks and carpet tiles, to the college’s estates department. Midas minimised disturbance of the live campus and achieved credits towards the BREEAM Excellent certification by appointing an acoustician to carry out acoustic testing for plant noise levels. Testing included an assessment of noise impact from fixed sources, with noise from the proposed fixed plant equipment assessed to minimise impact on neighbouring noise sensitive buildings; measurement of airborne and impact sound insulation between sample rooms; sample measurement of the internal ambient noise level; and sample measurement of reverberation times.
The college needed use of an existing ancillary workshop, due to be demolished as part of the programme, until the end of the 2017 academic term.
Midas adjusted the programme of works to accommodate the college’s requirements. The team left the workshop building operational until the college’s summer break, then employed a licensed contractor to remove asbestos containing materials (ACMs) from the workshop prior to demolishing it. The site team segregated areas with ACMs, included asbestos awareness in toolbox talks and followed Midas’ asbestos policy, including creation of a site specific HS002 Asbestos Management Plan, to safely manage these works.
Project Takeaways
Our Success
- During the two-stage tender process, Midas consulted with the client to agree selected subcontractors and add allowances for agreed work packages. Following agreement with the client at the preconstruction stage, the team completed an attendance matrix for the supply chain to plan supervision requirements.
- Prior to commencing construction, Midas agreed oversail of the crane with the college. However, during works the team found a solution to position the crane to avoid oversail, thereby minimising the risk. The site utilised vertical segregation and completed ground-bearing tests prior to installing the crane.
- The client engaged Midas from RIBA Stage 3 on this two stage design and build project, with planning consent achieved with a novated design team. Midas worked collaboratively with the existing team, focusing on the design, cost and programme to ensure the quality of the project was guaranteed. With the key delivery team on-board during the preconstruction, Midas were able to make a fast start which allowed an extended commissioning and handover period.
- The site received written compliments from local residents regarding traffic movements; before commencing works, Midas redesigned the traffic management plan to avoid sending delivery traffic through the village, to mitigate disruption to the local residents, and issued pre-start information to neighbours and the college regarding planned works. The team maintained access for neighbouring properties wherever possible and communicated access restrictions to those affected in advance of works. The team provided advance notice of potentially disruptive works and displayed 24-hour contact information.
Our Learnings
- Fitting traditional downpipes for drainage from the roof proved challenging due to limited drop locations. As part of the design and build process Midas issued a specialist enquiry to review options, provided quotes to the client and, upon agreement, proceeded with a gravity fed design.
Value Added
- Midas offered the client £872,441 (12.7%) of best value savings at Gateway 3 with £933,441 (13.2%) of savings delivered at Gateway 4. Savings include cladding alternatives (with a delivered saving of £183k); review of the M&E (delivered savings of £122k); provision of M&E equipment with an improved lifespan (saving £20k); and review of the RC frame (delivered savings of £98k).
- The project created 98 jobs for local people; employed a trainee site manager and a subcontractor apprentice; and supported eleven work experience placements.
- As part of the Employment and Skills Plan requirements Midas engaged with the local supply chain where possible, with one subcontractor located in Bridgwater itself and the majority of subcontractors based in the South West region.
- Of the total firms Midas employed on the project, 96.9% were SMEs with 35.9% of the project value being spent with local companies.
46% of people who worked on the project lived within 30 miles of the site.
KPI’s & Statistics
| Contract | Gateway 2 – Planning | Gateway 3 Contract Agreement | Variation |
| Cost | £7,391,129 | £6,843,317 | -£547,813 (-7.4%) |
| Time | 54 Weeks | 54 weeks | 0.43 weeks 0% |
KPI Graphs
Winter Gardens
Winter Gardens
Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset
Project Details
Client
Weston College
Project Manager
Weston College
Architect
View Architects Ltd
Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd
Value
£9.9 million
Contract Period
72 weeks
Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage
Form of Contract
JCT Design & Build 2011
Size
5,456m²
Apprentices
15
Project Summary
The restored Winter Gardens Pavilion is an iconic seafront venue for conferences, ceremonies and events, including smaller conference and meeting rooms. Designed in 1924 and first opened in 1927, the Pavilion features a neo-Georgian ballroom with dome and a rear 1980s extension, now fully refurbished into a modern two-storey educational centre with double-height reception space, housing Weston College’s new Law and Professional Services Academy and The Florentine bistro. Facing the seafront is Lasseter’s, a two-storey fine dining restaurant with a seafront patio area surrounded by glass screens.
This BREEAM Very Good project included demolition, refurbishment, reconfiguration and extension works, on a challenging location in the centre of town. Works included refurbishment of the ballroom; reconfiguration and refurbishment of the 1980s extension; and demolition and reconstruction of the rear section to create a two-storey entrance. Midas modernised the Pavilion, improving natural ventilation and daylight and retaining design sympathetic to the building’s heritage.
The project captured the interest of local groups and historical preservation societies, who went on to form a Local Steering Group with the aim of ensuring the College and Council respected the Pavilion’s status as a building of local significance.
“I am delighted with the end result, these new facilities will offer our students first-class facilities and provide the best education possible. Throughout the project our students have been involved, from placements with Midas to designing the new Winter Gardens logo. Here at Weston College, we put our students first in everything we do, and so it was of utmost importance that they could feel involved in such a huge project that will go on to benefit them and the local area.”
Community Engagement
Click here to add your own text
Key Challenges
The Pavilion is a designated building of local significance with strict planning approval controls.
Midas worked closely with the local authority’s planning department to agree planning approval for the design and materials, including replacement of the Pavilion’s large, curved ballroom windows. The local authority considered the windows to be an iconic part of the building; however, the timber frames had rotted through. Midas agreed their replacement with aluminium frames, sympathetically designed to be as similar as possible to the original frames whilst providing the required weather protection and security. Redesigning and retendering the windows saved £32,000 and achieved a solution accepted by the local planners.
Designed in 1924 and opened in 1927, the Pavilion and ballroom were past their maximum lifespan expectancy.
Midas worked with a specialist restoration company to restore the ballroom dome. Midas designed a bespoke mesh retention system, which is now being used as a method standard. The team fitted 3,000 structural bolts with 33,000 staples to pin the mesh into place on the curve of the dome; then sprayed the inside of the dome with an eco-friendly acoustic treatment formed from recycled paper and glue. The finished result has secured the dome and improved the acoustics of the ballroom, reducing the echo problems the hall had previously experienced.
Seafront site exposed to gale force winds and extreme weather.
The exposed location required periods of down time during high winds to ensure staff safety. Midas scheduled the programme to complete a large section of the high level and external works during spring and summer, with milder weather. The team worked weekends and additional hours to make up time lost during bad weather and sub-sectioned the works into different zones, with a manager to supervise works in each zone, enabling works to progress at different paces.
Restricted town centre site with limited drop off, stopping or unloading areas and confined external space.
To manage the constrained site, Midas restricted access times in accordance with local noise and working hours limitations. The site employed a full time vehicle controller to monitor all deliveries to the site and with planned deliveries only, scheduled to avoid rush hour, local retailers’ delivery slots and peak shopping periods. Midas leased a small parcel of adjacent land from the town council for deliveries, and rented parking spaces for contractors from an adjacent hotel.
The client had limited funds at the commencement of works, with their original budget being £1.8m less than the cost for the scope of works they preferred.
Midas completed a collaborative best value review to offer a £728k cost reduction at Gateway 3 but with £832k of best practice and added value benefits built in. This included an alternative roof finish, with a Soprema over-coating in place of stripping the roof, providing an improved lifespan and a saving of £60,500; an extensive review of M&E, finishes and decoration, combining services and functions where possible at a saving of £115,000; and redesigning the building to keep within the original footprint and reuse the existing foundations, for a saving of circa £300,000.
Project Takeaways
Our Success
- The structural engineer found the original 1920s architectural drawings in the County Hall Archive, and used these to analyse the existing foundations and inform a more detailed survey. This enabled us to retain existing floor slabs and reduce substructure costs, saving £200,000, and ensured our detailed understanding of the building meant only unavoidable intrusive surveys.
- The Midas Quantity Surveyor developed a Project Cost tracker, shared at weekly reviews with the client team, to keep all parties informed of progress and enable timely decision-making. This ensured Midas developed the design to budget.
- To manage the site’s exposure to gale force winds and extreme weather, Midas changed the roofing specification to avoid stripping the roof, and designed a steel frame to reduce the number of crane lifts. This mitigated the impact of bad weather, reducing programme risk and saving time and enabling the project to finish on the contracted completion date.
Our Learnings
- The local community, including the local Civic Society, Heritage Group and some neighbouring land owners expressed concern regarding the project and formed a Local Steering Group shortly after Weston College purchased the building. The Midas site team worked closely with this group to keep them informed of planned works and maintain a positive working relationship. Midas held monthly meetings with the Steering Group and hosted three site tours for their members, with ten to 15 people attending each tour.
- The client could only issue instruction of excluded listed building and fit out works once they received confirmation of secured Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) funding. Confirmation of LEP funding was received late in the programme, which Midas managed by collaboratively supporting the client in firming up the cost of these additional works. Midas reduced preliminary cost increases to only £84k by absorbing over £1.8m of additional works into the programme with only six weeks increase in programme period.
Value Added
- Achievement of BREEAM Very Good included installation of a PV array to provide 10% of the predicted energy use of the building, as required to comply with North Somerset Core Strategy policy. The array is 21m² and generates approximately 1713kWh of electricity per year, equating to a CO2 saving of 0.763 tonnes of CO2/annum.
- Midas supported the Employment and Skills Plan (ESP) through work experience placements for 14-17 year olds plus curriculum support activities. The construction team provided mock interviews for Year 10 students at Priory Community School; gave a tour for Utilities Higher National Certificate (HNC) students from Weston College; provided a graduate placement for a female assistant quantity surveyor from Weston College; and delivered training sessions for seven subcontractors.
- The site supported the local economy: 87% companies employed via the project were SMEs and the site used 62% local labour.
- Through close collaborative working £1.1m of best practice and added value benefits were ultimately delivered by project completion Gateway 4.
KPI’s & Statistics
| Contract | Gateway 2 – Planning | Gateway 3 Contract Agreement | Variation |
| Cost | £8,722,853 | £7,994,951 | -£727,902 (-8.3%) |
| Time | 52.6 Weeks | 54 weeks | 1.43 weeks 2.7% |
KPI Graphs
Apprentices: 15
Graduates: 3
Average AIR: 0
Average CCS score: 37.5
Waste diverted from landfill: 97.6%
Cost/m2: £1,805m²
Cost/m2 excl abnormals: £1,643m²
Cost/m2 Industry average £ m²
Cherry Garden School
Cherry Garden School
London Borough of Southwark
Project Details
Project Summary
Galliford Try has achieved practical completion on the new Cherry Garden special school. The new building for London Borough of Southwark, designed by Hawkins Brown Architects and procured through SCF, has enabled the expansion of an Ofsted Outstanding special school from 47 to 75 pupils, with additional provision for children of nursery age.
The new accommodation is arranged in two blocks and provides flexible and adaptable spaces to meet the changing needs of the children, including a hydrotherapy pool, a trampoline room, soft play and sensory rooms.
The project was delivered through SCF’s two-stage open book process, facilitating a collaborative approach to meeting LB Southwark’s cost, time and quality objectives and promoting safe construction environments, with Galliford Try achieving a Considerate Constructors Scheme score of 43, significantly above the 2018 national average of 36.1.
The school forms part of LB Southwark’s programme of primary school expansions, five of which Galliford Try has delivered through SCF to meet the Borough’s objective of providing great learning facilities for future generations, all within the context of restrained budgets and timescales.
Community Engagement
Key Challenges
Project Takeaways
Our Success
Our Learnings
Value Added
KPI’s & Statistics
Contact: Andrew Bacon, SCF Framework Account Manager Email: andrew.bacon@gallifordtry.co.uk Phone: (T) +44 1483 477000, (M) +44 7526 167803
Humanities Building
Humanities Building, University of Bristol
Bristol
Project Details
Client
University of Bristol
Architect
ADP
Contractor
ISG Construction
Value
£9.8m
Contract Period
74-week programme
Form of Contract
NEC 4
GIFA
2,551 M2
Project Summary
The new state-of-the-art Humanities Building is located in the Arts Complex surrounded by a series of handsome of Victorian villas with Woodland Road nearby.
Surrounded by buildings with mixed ownership, this scheme has complex party wall challenges that were all fully investigated during the early design stage. In addition, the basement encompasses the entire footprint of the site, therefore effective logistics management is critical to the success of the build.
“I have much pleasure in welcoming you to the School of Humanities, a leading centre for teaching, learning and research the humanities located in the dynamic port city of Bristol.”
Community Engagement
Key Challenges
Restricted footprint
To overcome the restricted footprint, ISG is working closely with Bristol City Council Highways Department to create a traffic-controlled loading lane on the busy Tyndalls Road. This has enabled the efficient offload of materials via the site tower crane, which is of vital importance to the movement of materials around site.
Access routes
Access routes for site operatives are also carefully managed. The site office and welfare facilities are based in one of the existing villas and as progress on site continues, access routes for operatives are adapted to meet the demands of the project.
Impact on adjacent Grade ΙΙ listed villas
The original site comprises an existing single-storey building and external courtyard space, located behind the two main Grade ΙΙ listed villas.
This adjacency to existing buildings was immediately identified during the pre-construction phase as a key area of design risk, and early works involved re-evaluation of the basement perimeter, to increase the area between existing buildings and the boundary, whilst maximising the footprint to accommodate a lecture theatre, cinema, and plant room.
Vibration monitoring ensured piling works for both the contiguous wall and the basement floor, from which the steel frame is mounted, did not impact on adjacent properties too.
Basement design
As the Risk Schedule identified the basement design as the area of highest risk, ISG and the design team appraised various re-design options.
The priority was to re-design the basement perimeter, with the requirement to both minimise risk to adjacent properties and enable sufficient space to construct the retaining walls. By re-positioning the plant room and subsequent risers, whilst maintaining the position of the lecture theatre, adequate space was created.
Design of the retaining structure
With budget and programme constraints to consider, a hybrid solution was developed, which moved away from the simplest option of using contiguous piling in all three areas.
Retaining structure solutions:
- Contiguous pile wall to part of the perimeter as a retaining system for two sides of the lecture theatre on the North East of the site, this is pinned with free standing cantilevers
- Slope batters at 2.1m for remaining basement wall structure
- Waterproofed contiguous pile wall with masonry face, incorporating drainage gulley
- Precast wall favoured for remaining walls, with integrated damp proof membrane and stone backfill placed between the building’s steel frame structure
Project Takeaways
Our Success
Our Learnings
- The hybrid piling solution used adds to ISG’s knowledge base of implementing innovative ground engineering solutions; this learning will be communicated around the wider business.
Value Added
KPI’s & Statistics
Contact: Emma Bull, Framework Manager Email: Emma.Bull@isgplc.com
