ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015 THE MAGAZINE FOR EVERYONE AT WILLMOTT DIXON

5 STAR RETIREMENT NOEL JOINS IN HAMPSHIRE P10 THE SPACE BUSMAN’S HOLIDAY IN BOURNEMOUTH RACE P16

1 Changing lives, improving our communities; Lisa O’Neill from Housing’s Midlands and North team joins a pupil from Woodlands special needs school at the LCO’s Foundation challenge to bring colour and ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015 vibrancy to the school’s outdoor play area ONESIXTHREE

SUMMER EDITION CONTENTS

04 REACHING FOR THE STARS Building Europe’s most important facility for satellites

08 ENERGY RISING Rob Lambe discusses UK expansion INTERIORS SECURES for Energy Services Tony O’Shea is leading the team on site 10 5 STAR RETIREMENT A retirement village in Hampshire is FLAGSHIP PROJECT defining how we build for the over 55s INTERIORS HAS WON building into its new home. It will fit for the 21st century, made us a 14 BUILDING LIVES IN BIRMINGHAM place the museum at the heart compelling proposition. The client Partnerships’ apprentice programme ONE OF LONDON’S MOST creates real legacy PRESTIGIOUS CONTRACTS: of Kensington’s cultural quarter liked our pedigree and practical close to Royal College of Art, V&A, approach.” 16 BUSMAN’S HOLIDAY CELEBRATING OUR CREATING THE DESIGN Science Museum, Natural History FOR CARDIFF TEAM MUSEUM’S NEW HOME IN Museum and Serpentine Gallery. The scope of work includes new How we are transforming this SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT galleries with space to accommodate seaside town KENSINGTON. Mike says: “The quality of our team one permanent and two temporary 20 AV IS THE PLACE TO BE:HERE ACHIEVEMENTS Two years after chief operating and our track record for turning exhibition areas, as well as modern The face of private renting is officer Mike Hart said he planned listed buildings into modern spaces, learning spaces, a library, auditorium, changing forever ‘to grow Interiors as a national player office areas and a new restaurant. IT’S OFFICIAL: 2014 WAS OUR MOST SUSTAINABLE YEAR! delivering large fit-outs’, the team 23 INTERIORS FIT-OUT “The quality of our Interiors fit out over 1 million m² OF FARRINGDON are in the national spotlight with one A facelift for Interior’s Every year Re-Thinking, the team which supports the Group in its of the biggest projects let this year. team and track-record of new space each year and as the Farringdon office sustainability work, produces a report which charts progress against our company expands geographically, sustainability strategy. Director of Re-Thinking, Julia Barrett, explains more: The Design Museum is moving restoring listed buildings this is set to double over the next 24 RIDING THE LONDON WAVE “We should all be proud of what we have achieved. The biggest headlines were from Shad Thames in Southwark five years. A round-up of big projects in London made us a compelling reducing our carbon emissions by 30%, retaining our carbon neutral status, to Kensington High Street and proposition” 26 MAKING A MARK IN RICHMOND diverting 96% of our waste from landfill, and 99% of staff completing its team, led by Tony O’Shea, Partnerships winning friends the new on-line sustainability induction.” will transform a Grade II listed Mike Hart in West London It’s the latest milestone in the journey started over ten years ago to be the 29 MARTIN SHOWS HIS WILD SIDE Our link-up with the Wildlife Trusts most sustainably responsible company in our sector. Julia continues: “This year to drive ecology best practice we set a new record for community investment, with the value of our activities reaching £2.27m. We are also on track to meet our target of ‘Enhancing GARRY’S BIM REVOLUTION 30 SCHOOLS FLOCK TO SUNESIS the lives of 3000 young people by the end of 2015’, which has only been Tim Carey explains how Sunesis is now open to private companies possible thanks to the fantastic efforts of all our people who make an amazing contribution to our goal of enhancing the wellbeing of local communities.” The first big milestone was 1 July, will allow our teams to deliver 32 PETER’S LOVE FOR BEVERLEY with all new Scape projects to use smarter, faster and better by giving Peter Gleave shows off his large WHAT’S NEXT? Building Information Modelling (BIM) a one-stop view of how all the retail development in the historic from this date with the target that intricacies of a project link together.” Yorkshire town “We have exciting plans for 2015/16!” says Julia. “This includes a challenging 90% will be built using BIM Level 2 target to reduce our carbon by 50% by 2020 and looking at how we can Garry is migrating the BIM 36 COBHAM’S SKY-HIGH CHALLENGE by 2017. Delivering Southampton’s largest further reduce water usage and waste. We are also planning a forum in the first Implementation Plan across regeneration scheme quarter of 2016 to help identify best practice and even more opportunities to Head of BIM Garry Fannon is Construction, Housing and Interiors grow our business through sustainable development.” preparing the business ready for on Scape projects in the first 40 HOUSING’S QUALITY ZONE Head of BIM Garry Fannon wider adoption of the computer instance, with a wider roll-out to Housing’s quality factory In the meantime, ‘Everybody plays a part’, our 2015 Sustainable Development in Birmingham modelling technology that will create follow. “The focus is on embedding Review, will be out later in the summer alongside the Foundation Review better efficiency in building projects. our BIM capability to ensure we containing lots of examples of the great work that sets us apart from others. WE’RE ENTERING A can deliver full Government Level Garry says: “BIM will improve our 2 BIM by next year,” says Garry. NEW AGE OF DIGITAL profitability and reduce risk by TECHNOLOGY WITH EDITORIAL SUGGESTIONS creating efficiencies through the PROJECTS SET TO BE design, build and FM processes. If you have any news or feature suggestions for the Once you’ve finished reading 163, feel free to send next issue of 163, please send them to: your copy to Andrew; we’d rather you do that than BUILT USING BIM. The information we get from BIM throw it away! Andrew Geldard, Head of Communications, Willmott Dixon Group, Spirella 2, Icknield Way, OneSixTHREE is designed and produced on behalf of 2 2 Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 4GY the Willmott Dixon Group by www.designhouse.co.uk 3 Best foot forward; Noel (centre) and the team behind the UK’s most sophisticated satellite development facility in Oxfordshire. Joining Noel are, left to right, Jackson Turner, Alex Drewitt, Gary Charnock and Nicu Baran ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

Behind the normal façade is one of the most hi-tech and heavily serviced buildings imaginable. The National Space Integration Facility, which Birmingham has built at the Harwell Science Campus in Oxfordshire, will be a world-leading R&D centre, recreating conditions in outer space with temperatures in some test chambers going as low as -260 degrees centigrade, almost 0 Kelvin. Harwell is the nerve centre of the UK’s space industry, home to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) – where last year’s Rosetta comet landing was masterminded. The new facility Birmingham has built will be used for testing out new instruments for use on future satellite space missions. Over 40% of the £21.6m build value of the project’s first phase is accounted for by services, no surprise given the Noel checks the highly configured interior which will soon nature of the R&D facilities inside the building. be manufacturing the world’s satellites

“We have had to develop that into a design, with our “Intense design phase” architect FDG, and then price all the work packages – Richard Clark in just seven months! So no pressure!” Noel continues: “They are a very informed client. The real story is Birmingham’s involvement in such a The programme has been very fast, but they have complex project. “The tender came out in October 2013 known exactly what they wanted, and there has and we were awarded the design-and-build contract a been a strong team ethos.” month later,” says Noel Cafferty, operations manager. The design development phase was “intense”, according “When we were first involved, all we had to work with was to senior design manager Richard Clark. “Essentially our a rough design – basic sketches of what the client wanted, engagement started at RIBA Stage 1,” he says. “We had showing layout of the main industrial areas, some desired to work very closely with the end-user, and flew through interdependencies between their operations, and office each of the first three RIBA stages on roughly a monthly space bolted on the outside.” basis. RIBA Stage 3 was signed off by the client in early REACHING February 2014, and the planning application was made that same month.” “In parallel with the planning process, RIBA Stage 4 Detailed Design was progressed and submitted for client FOR THE STARS sign-off early April 2014.” THE PRICE IS RIGHT BIRMINGHAM HAVE JUST HANDED OVER Meanwhile, the pricing took place. “Once planning consent A WORLD-LEADING FACILITY THAT TESTS was granted, a series of early works costs were agreed SATELLITES PRIOR TO BEING SENT TO so that enabling works could begin ahead of the main SPACE. IT HOUSES THE LARGEST AND MOST construction phase,” says Richard. “A key part of this was SOPHISTICATED DESIGN, PRODUCTION supply chain engagement on the key trade packages to AND RESEARCH FACILITIES FOR SATELLITES enable a prompt start on site.” INCLUDING THERMAL VACUUM CHAMBERS, During the design development phase, the client decided 15 CLEANROOMS AND LOW VIBRATION to split the construction into two phases: 1A, which will CHAMBERS. 163 MET THE TEAM WHO cost £21.6m and include the shell, core, and most building BUILT IT. services and research facilities; and 1B, which will include The glass façade points towards a high quality interior that further R&D areas plus offices. matches any research facility in the world Article continues

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The process has operated at BIM Level 2, though the next phase of the project may extend use of BIM further. Noel adds that the steel contractor, Morgans of Usk, was “excellent” in responding to a demanding programme. “They were erecting the steelwork just a month after we had started on site,” he says, “and it was very much a hand-to-mouth process.” The exterior design of the building has been influenced by what Noel describes as an ‘outer space theme’. “They are fond of using dark blue and gold,” he says. The south and east elevations of the facility – essentially the front, where the reception atrium will be located – Noel Cafferty’s experience on science faculty buildings at the feature metal rainscreen cladding and curtain walling, University of Cambridge helped in understanding the space facility’s M&E requirements with a brise soleil. On level three, there is ‘desert gold’ coloured cladding, which was originally intended to drop down through the other levels, behind the curtain walling. BIM “Budget constraints mean we’ll be using ‘desert gold’ Building information modelling (BIM) also helped in paint instead on the internal walls to create the same the planning of the services and the steelwork. “We effect,” says Noel. produced and shared Revit models throughout the design process,” says Richard. “This enabled key areas ENERGY BILLS of design coordination to be considered early in the The Space Integration Facility has been designed to process, such as between the structural steelwork, achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’. But in some ways overhead gantry cranage, and M&E services. that is incidental, given the running costs of the building. “It also enabled the end-users to consider earlier on “They will have annual energy bills of £8m,” says Noel. how some of their specialist equipment would This phase of the project finished in May. “The design satisfactorily be coordinated with, and installed into, development was completed for the whole building, but the building post-completion.” the client wants to revise it to get more out of phase 1B,” “Clash detection exercises were run on the developing says Noel. The scale of the RAL facility is vast, with some areas three storeys high to accommodate the test chambers. models, and elements of the design were adjusted – The sky’s the limit now for Noel and the team! Note the yellow gantry cranes, attached to the structural steel, which will be used by the client once the building is operational to eliminate clashes which might not otherwise have been spotted in time – to suit the fast-track procurement and installation programme. “ The team started construction of phase 1A in June 2014, length of the block. “It acts in a similar fashion to the keel with a target completion date of June 2015. The 7,500m2 of a ship,” explains Noel. building is 17m high and comprises three storeys PROJECT INFORMATION of varying layouts to accommodate the R&D facilities. Each seismic block sits in a pit, with the concrete blocks Level one is effectively a mezzanine, with only a partial designed and cast in situ by RAL’s specialist contractor PES. floor plate. Level two has a full floor plate. Level three is A big challenge for Noel was defining the interface split between plant rooms and the roof, with the M&E between Clean Room Construction (CRC) and Briggs PROJECT NATIONAL SPACE INTEGRATION FACILITY (FIRST PHASE) plant prefabricated as far as possible to help accelerate & Forrester. The latter’s £6.7m work package included the programme. CLIENT RUTHERFORD APPLETON LABORATORY services design for the project, so it was a key player. (OPERATED BY THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL) “Understanding how the services interfaced was important,” VALUE £21.6M SPACE TEST CHAMBERS explains Noel. “CRC also carried out services installation as The two Space Test Chambers (STCs) on the ground floor, part of its contract, and the big issue was determining who CONTRACT NEC OPTION A, DESIGN & BUILD 5m in diameter and 15m long, will be full building height did what. Essentially, CRC is responsible for all of the clean DESIGN PROGRAMME NOVEMBER 2013-JUNE 2014 when completed. To accommodate vibration testing, each rooms, and Briggs & Forrester do the connections.” CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME JUNE 2014 – JUNE 2015 STC sits on a 300-tonne concrete seismic block. These are positioned on steel springs, which allow the block to Noel’s experience on science faculties at the University ARCHITECT FAIRHURSTS DESIGN GROUP of Cambridge served him well and gave him an move, ensuring ‘vibration isolation’ in the test chamber. BUILDING SERVICES BRIGGS & FORRESTER The blocks are 5m wide and 15m long, and T-shaped in “understanding of how to manage lots of different M&E cross-section, with the 4m-deep ‘foot’ of the T running the elements and their contractors”, he says. STRUCTURES GRANVILLE

6 7 ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

We are also actively involved in shaping the marketplace; stock. It remains urgent that we address fuel poverty and working with a number of high street names including energy security and UK/EU legislation provides a strong B&Q, Citizens Advice Bureau, John Lewis and the framework for climate change mitigation and carbon National Trust on the ‘Big Energy Vision’ we aim to help reduction, so the need to improve our building stock is ENERGY householders take control of their energy bills. I’m also greater than ever. working with the Government’s chief construction adviser, Dr Peter Hansford, on a review of solid wall insulation. HOW DOES ENERGY SERVICES FIT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING RISING WITH OTHER PARTS OF THE GROUP? “Willmott Dixon Energy Services’ input We provide diversity for the Group as well as and deliverance into the project has been WHILE COMPETITORS ARE SHRINKING, complementary services enabling us to bid for works in invaluable. The quality of their work has ENERGY SERVICES IS GOING FROM partnership with other parts of the business. For example, recently been acknowledged, as the project STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. WE ASKED we have recently worked with the Partnerships team in Birmingham to extend the scope of their contracted works has won a national housing award” MANAGING DIRECTOR ROB LAMBE TO REVEAL to include external wall insulation to three existing tower Paul Lowe, Golden Gates Housing Trust THE SECRETS OF HIS TEAM’S SUCCESS. blocks with funding secured through ECO. HOW IS ENERGY SERVICES GROWING We are also providing technical expertise supporting a “I would like to commend your delivery WHEN OTHERS ARE CUTTING BACK? wide range of projects in other parts of the business where team for their collaborative, hardworking energy performance is a key part of our delivery promise. approach to ensure the successful delivery of The simple answer is that we have a great team that is These include Bicester Eco-town, Sunesis schools and the determined to make a difference and deliver excellent civic centre building in Keynsham. this project. They have without doubt gone service to our clients. We have been successful in winning ‘the extra mile’ for us and we have all enjoyed some significant work, among them the two largest social WHAT’S HAPPENING IN working with your team” housing projects in the country for Hull City Council and THE NON-DOMESTIC MARKET? Sue Dixon, Places For People Bristol City Council, which will each account for around £10m of activity each year over the next 4–5 years. A lot less than we would like! But we keep looking for opportunities. I’m hopeful that the recent introduction of “The house is a lot warmer, we don’t spend as Account development and repeat business is also Rob Lambe the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard, which says that important and the Green Services Hub, an OJEU- all private landlords’ properties must be at least E-rated by much on heating and use very little heating compliant framework run by Places for People where 2018, will stimulate activity. now. We are very pleased with the work we are the sole provider, offers an excellent route for up to £40 a week on heating: that’s the difference and the workmen were excellent with no this. For example, having worked successfully on a small between heating or not for some people. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON problems at all” competitively tendered contract for the London Borough THE RECENT ELECTION RESULTS? Mr and Mrs Powell from Llay, Wrexham of Havering, they then decided to use the GSH framework WHAT DO WE DO THAT OTHERS DON’T? to employ us on a programme of work that is worth The outcome provides a stable environment, though the around £7m a year. I believe we are setting standards for low carbon Conservative manifesto was not as strong as others in retrofit. And it isn’t just me saying that. Colin King, relation to addressing the condition of existing housing Then there’s the Arbed 2 programme for the Welsh a recognised expert and a director at the BRE, visited Government which is opening doors to more work in our Llandysul site recently and was very impressed Wales, and programmes for clients including the West by what he saw. Our Alder Green Regeneration Yorkshire Combined Authorities, the Association of Scheme for the Golden Gate Housing Trust won FAST FACTS Greater Manchester Authorities, Leeds Federated Housing the most innovative refurbishment/regeneration Association and the Golden Gates Housing Trust. scheme at the 2015 Housing Innovation Awards. By end of 2015, Energy Services will have installed energy savings measures into 6,000 homes, saving about

Today our team is nearly 80 strong, compared to The quality of low carbon retrofits currently being 156,000 tonnes of CO2. 20 in 2012. undertaken across the UK varies enormously and much of what is being delivered will lead to unintended This amount of CO2 saved would fill: WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? consequences such as internal mould growth and poor • About 35,000 Olympic sized swimming pools air quality. We have a team of experts who approach the The fact that we are doing good while doing good business. • Over 915 Royal Albert Halls assessment of properties and the design of the solutions I’m proud that our work is helping to address climate very differently, ensuring we deliver the appropriate • 80 Wembley stadiums change by reducing the UK’s carbon emissions whilst solutions for the particular property. We also monitor • 35 Great Pyramids of Giza also improving the lives and the health of some of the properties after completion to establish how they are most vulnerable people in the country. actually performing. Insulation being applied to a house in Leeds It is the equivalent of CO2 produced each year by almost By insulating homes we are helping people to save 20,000 UK citizens and by about 105,000 cars.

8 9 Team run… management trainee Chris Lloyd-Evans is quick off the mark, closely followed by James Lax and the Bishopstoke team ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

“Being on the flight path was a huge challenge” James Lax

James adds: “When we did the core of the village, we 5 STAR needed to put a tower crane up and the negotiations took weeks. The tower crane was only 48-metres but the job was 78-metres as we needed to stretch across the centre of the site and the crane encroached on the flight zone for landing by two metres. When there’s bad weather, planes Best foot forward: James Lax in front of the new retirement village RETIREMENT! need to use laser beams to land and that was the problem.” And bad weather there certainly has been at Bishopstoke the Mount from different bricks to different renders Park. Six months after starting, Britain was hit by the and Flemish bond and stretcher bond. The idea was OUR ISLINGTON HOUSING TEAM “Those are the biggest challenge here,” says operations wettest January on record with the south coast of England to make it look as though it had been developed over ARE BEHIND A BLUEPRINT FOR HOW manager James Lax pointing up into the sky at a passing subject to deluge. Permission for the crane was given, time. We also have a new swimming pool attached to RETIREMENT WILL LOOK IN THE FUTURE, Flybe plane. but the sloping site threatened to turn into a quagmire. the Victorian tower, which we had to blend together.” WITH SELF-CONTAINED VILLAGES Working in the flight path of an airport might seem a RESTORING A FORMER HOSPITAL Peter continues, “Anchor didn’t want it to look like PROVIDING THE 5-STAR TREATMENT. crazy idea, but that is what James and the team has speculative-box housing; they wanted character and 163 VISITED BISHOPSTOKE PARK been doing at Bishopstoke in Hampshire, with the village The need for such a long jib was necessitated by the individual style, with even the flat types different. TO FIND OUT. 10-minutes from Southampton Airport in nearby Eastleigh; ecological conditions on the near 15 hectare site, which It’s more about a sales type and a level of finish.” close enough to make hiring a tower crane a major issue! was formerly home to the Mount Hospital. At the centre is a Victorian tower that had to be retained and the design With prices starting at £250,000 and rising to £870,000 Housing is completing phase one to build the retirement needed to reflect this. for a two-bed penthouse, it’s certainly upmarket. The first village for Anchor Trust. It follows a similar scheme nearly phase comprises 72 flats for private sale, 19 close care ten years ago called Denham Garden Village and the While Tyack developed the initial design and Urban units and 48 care beds and there are 94 different types of team have been on site for over 18 months dealing with a Edge secured planning permission, Housing is building kitchen across these units. number of challenges that come along, none bigger than out the first phase on Bishopstoke Park under a the need to hire a tower crane. design and build contract. Peter Kilby, senior design co-ordinator, explains; “There are so many finishes on Article continues

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Over a two year period, 16 young people worked with Wendy Jordan and Mark Clothier monitor quality Willmott Dixon’s supply chain on trades ranging from bricklaying to carpentry, floor and wall tiling, groundworks, dry-lining and painting and decorating. The work with SEBP also extended to helping clear an overgrown former nursery near the construction site to provide an agricultural training base. Willmott Dixon’s groundwork contractor Royland provided the machinery for the clearance, arboriculturalists Arborcall provided the labour and Willmott Dixon covered the cost of the skips.

The village will provide a five star retirement environment “That relationship with SEBP COMMUNITY WORKS enabled us to engage with While working on the Bishopstoke Park scheme, the team has undertaken a number of community initiatives local schools, colleges and a that saw the company win the 2014 Amazing Employer of the Year Award in Southampton’s annual Amazing lot of work-based experience People Awards. with Eastleigh College” A large proportion of those came out of a relationship James Lax with a local skills provider called Solent Educational Business Partnerships (SEBP), which is based in Eastleigh. “SEBP were over the moon,” adds James. “They were The relationship sprung out of a desire to find a productive desperate to clear the site but couldn’t find anyone While permission was ultimately given for the tower crane, solution to clauses in the Section 106 agreement on the to do it.” the construction team had to work around a giant copper planning permission for the project. beech in the centre. Like many of the trees on site, the The tower crane also provided an opportunity for copper beech was protected by a Tree Protection Order James explains: “That relationship with SEBP enabled us to Hampshire Fire & Rescue. Firefighters were invited onto (TPO) and one of many that had to be saved. engage with local schools and colleges and we did a lot of the site on a weekend and given the opportunity to work-based experience with Eastleigh College.” practice rescuing people from a tower crane. “They were “Following the tower crane, the ecological conditions were really appreciative,” says James, who also found himself the next biggest issue,” admits James. recruited to take part in a form of business speed-dating GOING GREEN at Swanmore College. Before work could start, a Construction Mitigation PROJECT INFORMATION Method Statement for the local council and Natural England had to be prepared. Then the team had to remove a swathe of grass snakes and slow worms. Chris Lloyd-Evans, writes, with Matt Liggett While this was being carried out, a reptile barrier had PROJECT BISHOPSTOKE PARK RETIREMENT VILLAGE to be built around the site to stop the slow worms and LOCATION BISHOPSTOKE NEAR EASTLEIGH, HAMPSHIRE grass snakes returning. COMMUNITY FACILITIES COST £28 MILLION (PHASE ONE ONLY) There were also three badger setts dotted around the CLIENT ANCHOR 2020 It’s not just about homes; villages need amenities site. “Badgers are a bit nomadic and can have four or five DESIGN & BUILD CONTRACTOR WILLMOTT DIXON so that the over 55s living here don’t have to travel different setts and then migrate between them so we had far to get what they need. So phase one also comes to set up motion sensor cameras to find out if the setts ARCHITECT TYACK/URBAN EDGE with a swimming pool, Wellness Centre, a shop, library, were being used,” explains James. PLANNING CONSULTANT PEGASUS hairdressers, juice bar and a ballet and craft room. All you need for a self-contained village! One of the setts was being used, so a badger ladder was LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT PORTUS & WHITTON installed so that the omnivores were not trapped. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER FARROW WALSH Another focus was being sustainable, one of the reasons Anchor chose our team. With 98% of the waste diverted With first phase completing shortly, the team hope to be COST CONSULTANT MACE from landfill, allied to a number of other sustainable appointed for the second stage, which is currently out to ACOUSTIC CONSULTANT HOARE LEA initiatives such as underfloor heating, this scheme is tender and features 78 units for private sale. This will start KITCHEN SUPPLIER MOORES FURNITURE expected to meet level four of the Code for Sustainable in September and, should our bid prevail, will offer far Homes and to be rated excellent under BREEAM. fewer hurdles that the initial phase. LIFTS OTIS

12 13 Just three of many apprentices Partnerships is equipping with lifelong skills; from left to right, Taylor Robbins, Ellie King and Chris Rowlands ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

“College is great. Willmott Dixon has given me a ELLIE KING second chance at life so I just want to do my best.” DETERMINED Chris says he was apprehensive about how his work TO WORK colleagues would view an older apprentice. Ellie King is a single mum Would they take him seriously? Again, he was who is working hard as an pleasantly surprised. “It’s a great place to work,” he apprentice plumber. Last year says. “They teach you and pass on all their knowledge she was highly recommended to you.” by the UKCG national apprentices awards, a far cry In 2014 Chris won Willmott Dixon’s Apprentice of the from her days trying to get on the jobs ladder Year Award. “You get praised for your achievements just a few years ago, before she got her big break at here. The more you give, the more you get,” says Chris. Willmott Dixon. “After I won, they invited me to a team-building event, Ellie is not the sort of person who likes to sit around, staying in a posh hotel. It was like a life I had never so as soon as her daughter was old enough to go lived before.” to nursery, she enrolled herself on an electrical installation course at her local college. “I didn’t want to be sitting at home on my bottom,” she says. “I enjoy working and you can always fall back BUILDING LIVES TAYLOR ROBINS on a trade.” THE DRIVE Despite achieving NVQ levels 2 and 3 in electrical TO SUCCEED installation, finding a job proved difficult. “I couldn’t find a job because I didn’t have the site experience. Taylor Robbins is a first year And I couldn’t get the site experience because no one IN BIRMINGHAM apprentice, a young dad would give me a job. I was going round in circles.” who wanted to put his drive and energy to good use! Ellie did a Prince’s Trust course which included work THERE IS NO BETTER EXAMPLE OF To illustrate this, 163 met three apprentices whose He came to us via the Midland Heart ‘Back on Track’ experience and was placed with Willmott Dixon. programme offering apprenticeships to young people PARTNERSHIPS’ DRIVE TO MAKE A prospects have been transformed by Partnerships. “That’s how I found out about their apprenticeship from disadvantaged backgrounds. scheme,” she says. TRANSFORMATIONAL IMPACT ON LIVES THAN IN BIRMINGHAM. THE COMPANY CHRIS ROWLANDS If you had asked Taylor Robins what he thought of Though there were no electrical apprenticeships on HAS GIVEN LIFE-LONG SKILLS TO OVER A NEW LIFE college 12 months ago, the answer may well have offer when she applied, Ellie didn’t let that stop her. been “not much”. He never enjoyed school, didn’t “I was desperate to do something, so I broadened 60 PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRAINED AS Chris is a building really see the point of it and consequently didn’t get APPRENTICES, SUPPORTING ITS WORK my horizons. I thought I’d learn another trade, maintenance operative the qualifications he could have done. and plumbing is a life skill,” she says. TO MAINTAIN 60,000 COUNCIL PROPERTIES. who was Willmott Dixon’s Apprentice of the Year in It’s a different story today. Taylor is eight months into Comparing the two years studying at college Managing director Mick 2014. From having few skills, a carpentry apprenticeship. “I’ve got people to support and the two years she is spending learning via an Williamson explains: “This is Chris, now 39, has really grasped the opportunities me, to make sure I’m doing the best I can,” says Taylor. apprenticeship, Ellie would recommend the apprentice about more than repairing provided by Willmott Dixon, although he wasn’t “I’ve got the drive to do well, to be successful and I can route every time. “You are earning while you are property, we have the scale optimistic about his chances when he applied for see something at the end of it.” learning and you get a qualification at the end of it.” to leave a lasting positive an apprenticeship. impact on Birmingham’s When asked how his training is going, Taylor replies: It’s not easy working a full day, and having to send her growth. I’m passionate that However, that outlook changed once in the interview. “I’m really enjoying it, that’s the best way to put it. My daughter to childcare before and after school, but Ellie we use this opportunity to “The people who interviewed me listened to my story,” mentor - the person I work with every day - really says that even if she hadn’t won the apprenticeship, enhance lives – not with he says. “I told them that I wanted to make a better wants me to succeed. He cares about what I do. And she would definitely be working somewhere now, all the tradespeople at the depot are good people, Mick Williamson gimmicks or box-ticking life for myself and they seemed to be impressed she just doesn’t know where. And she may not have “The talent is out there – exercises, but tangible ways enough to give me a chance,” says Chris. they are good to work with.” been able to pursue her plan to learn a trade. we just nurture, support and develop it!” that support long-term job Taylor still has to go to college, one day a week, but his prospects. Chris is now studying an apprenticeship in plumbing, carpentry, painting and decorating, plastering and attitude has totally changed. “I know that college is an “It gives me huge pride that so many people have grabbed tiling and attends college one day a week. Now 18 important part of my apprenticeship and it has to be the opportunity we have given them and are thriving in months into a two-year apprenticeship, he finished his done. I used to wake up and think ‘Oh no, I have to go our business. The talent is out there – we help nurture, NVQ six months early. to college’. Now I just think ‘It’s college today. Let’s get support and develop it!” on with it’ – totally different”

14 15 Andy Jones, right, operations manager for our Bournemouth team, pours over a plan for the next development with Simon Shefford ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

WORKING IN LIVE ENVIRONMENTS Working amidst thousands of students on a tight site that previously housed half a dozen car parking spaces and a handful of storage containers was a major challenge. Andy explains: “It was the first new building on the campus for a long time so it was very important. We were working in the heart of the campus; the logistics were horrendous! There was maybe eight metres between the site and library and we also abutted a sports centre, which is where the students have exams.” Working silently is hardly practical, so some exams were transferred, while work was sequenced for other times to Bournemouth University is excited about its first project in 10 years, the six-storey Student Centre avoid exams. The team did such an impressive job that in April 2014 the university invited them to build the next part of what is a major development plan. This scheme is called the Fusion building and is one site now, delivering more teaching space, including seminar “There was maybe eight rooms and three new lecture theatres. Here, the team is led by Mark Pittman, with the same structural engineers metres between the site (WSP) and mechanical & electrical consultants (Hoare Lea) as used on the Student Centre, with Building Design BUSMAN’S HOLIDAY FOR and library and we abutted Partnership producing the design. a sports centre where the BIGGER TEAM As work has built up in Bournemouth, Andy drafted in students have exams” more people, including some from Cobham, as well as Andy Jones 10 new staff. CARDIFF TEAM Article continues

BOURNEMOUTH IS ONE OF THE NICEST BIGGEST ROLL-OUT FOR TEN YEARS SEASIDE RESORTS IN THE UK, SO WHEN YOU Bournemouth University has just started its biggest LAND OVER £50M OF WORK IN THE TOWN, estate renew in a decade, and our name was high on the THERE COULD BE WORSE PLACES TO WORK! list of contractors, not least because of the procurement 163 MET THE CARDIFF TEAM DELIVERING benefits of using Scape. “The university came to us in SEVERAL MAJOR PROJECTS. October 2012 with a need for a new student centre that had to open by Easter 2015,” says Andy. “If they went Until recently, the company had not had much of a through the OJEU route, they wouldn’t have had time and presence in Bournemouth; now you can’t go far without Scape got them through that process.” seeing our famous signs. Our place on the Scape Andy is operations manager on the first of two schemes framework has helped establish a real presence, with we are building for the university. From a former institute, Bournemouth University one of the largest clients. Bournemouth now has a well-regarded university with Operations manager Andy Jones explains, “We are 13,000 students across two campuses in Talbot Heath involved in a diverse range of projects, from creating and the Lansdowne in central Bournemouth. It needed a tourist attraction by the pier to building large projects better facilities to attract more students, and that’s for the university and college. The activity means where we come in, building a Student Centre and the we now have over 20 staff working across four projects Fusion building. in Bournemouth.” The team have been based at the Talbot campus for two years now. The first project was the new six-storey Student Centre designed by architect Saunders as a flexible learning space that was less austere than the library that adjoins the building on the third floor. The team behind the Student Centre inspect their fine work

16 17 Two giant steel leaves stand at the front of the pier, a permanent legacy for our role in Bournemouth’s future ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

rarely worked. In 2005, a Channel 4 poll saw the IMAX touches to a job that includes a new tourist office and wet come out as Britain’s biggest carbuncle. children’s play area – and some giant steel leaves! The two leaves are the eye-catching central point of focus “The clients we are working and have already proved a popular addition. They form part of a new Pier Approach that is part of a longer-term for have funding but limited council plan for the town’s seafront and the leaves were time to spend that funding; complete for the town’s annual ‘Wheels’ festival in May. Yet Andy and the team are unlikely to say ‘goodbye’ to Scape is ideal” Bournemouth yet. The council has other plans and a second Fusion project at Bournemouth University is in the Andy Jones pipeline. A number of other major projects in the town are also bubbling away in the planning – so looks like our Two years ago, the council tore the much-loathed building signage will be in Bournemouth for a few more years yet. down and Andy’s team stepped in to put the finishing

“It’s evolved organically,” adds Andy. “The clients that WINNING LOCAL FRIENDS we are working for have funding but limited time to spend that funding. It’s all been about getting money Soon after establishing a presence in spent within the budget time-frames, and we are doing Bournemouth, Willmott Dixon became involved in just that.” a major community initiative, which also includes the town’s successful football team and a number Another big project that came along is the Poole of other local bodies. campus of Bournemouth & Poole College, building an applied science and digital centre to service a booming Two local clients, Bournemouth Council and the digital economy in the town. A recent report, Tech Nation, university, are also involved in the Green Goals claimed that Bournemouth had the fastest growing scheme along with the local Castlepoint shopping digital economy in the UK with the number of digital centre, Eco Sustainable Solutions, the Green start-up companies being formed surging by 212% House Hotel, J&G Environmental, New Earth between 2010 and 2013. Jon Scales, left, talks with Mark Pitman about the latest additions to Bournemouth Pier Solutions and W+S Recycling. Work started at the college’s Poole campus in North Green Goals is a community fund that was set up Road in March 2014 and it finished in late Spring this five years ago to aid environmental regeneration year. It was a referral from the university, as Andy WILLMOTT DIXON’S BOURNMOUTH PROJECT LIST and offers grants of up to £1,000 to community says, “The university gave advice on where to find groups for environmental initiatives such as an efficient procurement route and excellent builder, cleaning up the beach. Larger grants of up to the rest is history.” £5,000 are available for transport projects. CLIENT BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY CLIENT BOURNEMOUTH & POOLE COLLEGE NO EQUAL PIERS PROJECT STUDENT CENTRE PROJECT NEW ACADEMIC BUILDING Willmott Dixon signed up in January 2014, when AFC Bournemouth commercial director Rob Then came a fourth, highly unusual project, the smallest COST £7.6 MILLION COST £8.8 MILLION Mitchell – a driving force behind the initiative – project in Bournemouth, but no less memorable as it OP MANAGER ANDY JONES OP MANAGER NICK ROGERS said: “We have some very valuable environmental involves helping to regenerate part of a site that until and sustainable transport initiatives being recently housed Britain’s most hated building. CLIENT BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY CLIENT BOURNEMOUTH COUNCIL delivered across Bournemouth and Willmott In 1998, a controversial £20 million IMAX cinema PROJECT FUSION ONE PROJECT PIER APPROACH Dixon’s support will help us to further enhance was built on the site of a derelict swimming baths by COST £15.0 MILLION COST £3.4 MILLION what we do.” Bournemouth’s pier. The 50 foot glass building blocked views of the sea. To make matters worse, the cinema only OP MANAGER MARK PITMAN OP MANAGER ANDY JONES

18 19 Simon Chatfield is spearheading our rental drive at AV ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

“As both rooms are the same size, there is no squabbling about who gets the small box room” Simon Chatfield

TENANT DESIRES What’s unique about AV and all Be:here homes is they are designed for renters not buyers. So the two-bed home has a huge living/kitchen area, unencumbered by the corridors and storage cupboards of units intended for sale. The arrival area is more like an American Condo system reception with open space as you walk in straight into the kitchen and lounge area. They also have two large, same- sized bedrooms branching off from either side, with each tenant having their own walk-in closet and bathroom behind especially sound-insulated walls. “When people are in here, they have their own self- contained bedroom,” says Simon, “and because both rooms are the same size, there is no squabbling about who AV IS THE PLACE gets the small box room.” The only difference between the two rooms is a “Jack and Jill” bathroom entrance into one toilet – so guests can use it without traipsing through someone’s bedroom. TO BE:HERE! QUALITY AS STANDARD The private rent units are being built at AV alongside Prime TENANTS MOVING INTO THE 158 HOMES HUGE POTENTIAL Place’s 105 market sale homes, aided by funding from NEAR EAST INDIA DOCKS IN EAST LONDON M&G, which will own the asset, while Be:here is the brand “Regen could see the difficulties people were facing in their that people will rent from. WILL BE PIONEERS - WHETHER THEY REALISE ability to purchase property,” says Be:here’s director for IT OR NOT. 163 FINDS OUT HOW HOUSING research and operations, Simon Chatfield, who joined the This on-going presence means that Be:here has to think HISTORY IS BEING MADE. company two and a half years ago. “We looked at the US long term regarding repairs and maintenance. For example, and saw how the model around home renting could be the wood floor has a 20 year guarantee, the kitchen units With the first two-bedroom flats open to private renters replicated here.” have a thicker core and the carpet a thicker pile. Simon this summer, they will be the first homes to be built continues, “The ‘fully-furnished’ arrangement is different, specifically for private rent. They differ from homes Be:here didn’t rush in. Under managing director Matthew with high-quality furniture from Habitat. The tables and built for market sale, with the living arrangements Pullen, it surveyed 8,000 renters with 120 workshops chest of drawers are solid oak and the mattress in the geared totally around this more transient market. to find out what this market wanted from its landlords. bedroom is box-sprung. The sofas come with removable Unsurprisingly, cost transparency, quality and flexibility covers in case of the inevitable red wine spills. Tenants Our company first started looking at the private rent came out as big issues. Another potential was getting have an option to rent their flats furnished top to bottom market over five years ago. Such was the opportunity, institutional money involved in funding, with the income - including linens, crockery, cutlery, cushions and pictures - we created Be:here with the aim of developing 5,000 from renters proving a great source of non-cyclical income or select from one of these packs.” units in less than five years. That was two years ago and for pension funds. there are now over 1,300 in the pipeline in London alone, All flats also come with high-speed broadband with the first about to go live at Aberfeldy Village (AV). The Be:here model was born and it secured its first deal at (upgradeable to 1 gig) and electricity from green energy Not bad going! Aberfeldy Village in 2013, followed by another in Hayes provider, Ecotricity, already installed - although tenants the following year, with more in Brentford and Barking can obviously switch services. The first 105 homes in the market sale element of AV sold very quickly starting on site next year. Article continues

20 21 Executive administrator Catherine Fern takes stock of the first refurbished floor at Farringdon, not long now before the others follow! ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

MAKEOVER FARRINGDON!

IT’S ALL CHANGE AT OUR FARRINGDON OFFICE AS IT UNDERGOES A MASSIVE Big hubs like Canary Wharf are close to AV MODERNISATION.

This is the first big refurbishment of the offices that have been home to Interiors since 2003 and will see a complete “It’s a completely different a £300 returnable deposit on the flat. With their details remodelling of the floors to create more space for an in the system, receiving ongoing payment is a matter of expanding team. Also, Hitchin will have desk space too in take on the market” ticking a few boxes. order to increase its presence in London following a series “It’s a completely different take on the market,” says of big project wins. Simon Chatfield Simon. “A brand and product designed and delivered When completed later this year, visitors will see a totally bespoke.” transformed office with impressive new reception, EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE Currently, the flats rent at £1,000 for a studio, a one open plan work areas and top quality meeting rooms. 2 It’s another reflection of Interiors’ strong growth which Where AV departs from the norm, is its approach to bedroom from £1,300 and a 70m two-bed from £1,600 Construction manager Sat Chima checks up on progress on up. The prices have been set to match local market values. sees the company led by Mike Hart now one of London’s the first floor as the Farringdon office gets a revamp service, on-site maintenance and risk-management. top five fit-out specialists. The site’s property manager is in charge of a small Simon aims that with AV people will move to East India – team, including caretaker and deputy property manager and stay. engaged in keeping the lives and homes of renters running like clockwork. Renters meet the Be:here team when they are shown around the flat. They also help them get settled and are easily found at the reception desk. They will take delivery of parcels, direct quick repairs and organise community events to help those neighbours who want to meet each other. The service also extends to the sophisticated website through which people can rent. This has been created by a US firm called Yardi and allows the visitors to take a closer look at the location they are interested in, guides them virtually around the interior of the flats, displays the units available to let and their location within the Simon shows AV’s position in London on the model in the sales suite Judith Buckle checks out latest progress on building the new ground floor reception area development, lets them send an enquiry email and put

22 23 Hitchin operations manager Simon Wilson in front of Summit House, our latest project in London to transform tired offices into space for the 21st century ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

Maple House: The wraps are about to come off Maple House, Hitchin’s contract for Helical Bar to refurbish another large property in Shoreditch

AS LONDON CONTINUES TO POWER AHEAD WITH THE BIGGEST SURGE IN DEVELOPMENT WORK FOR A GENERATION, OUR TEAMS ARE DELIVERING SEVERAL MAJOR SCHEMES IN THE CAPITAL.

Hitchin has two big projects in the city of London. Its latest is a £20 million contract to refit the 1980s- built Summit House to deliver 9,500m2 of office space in Shoreditch. That building is a short distance away from its refurbishment of the 1960s Maple House on City Road to CAT A standard for Helical Bar. Nearby, Cobham’s 13-storey Dorsett City Hotel on Aldgate High Street is also starting to take shape, while Interiors has transformed much of the Guildhall for the City of London. In the case of Summit House, it’s Hitchin’s fourth project for the Low Carbon Workplace (LCW), a consortium that includes Stanhope, Threadneedle and The Carbon Trust. Working for LCW sees our teams skilfully convert offices to make them 50% more energy efficient than equivalent buildings. Hitchin MD Chris Tredget explains, “Summit House is a defining moment that points to a rise in property owners RIDING THE investing to create low carbon office environments in London, driven by tenant demand and the upside in value. Cobham is converting the former Matrix building close to Aldgate Clients are choosing us for this and other London projects East underground station into the new upper scale Dorsett City, for our skills and experience of working on constrained, London. This CGI shoes the high-rise when completed LONDON WAVE! high-rise commercial sites.” 24 25 There is a real buzz in the office at Richmond ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

Caroline McGrogan

“We are looking at how the teams are structured and asking whether there would PARTNERSHIPS be a more productive way to deliver” MAKING A MARK IN RICHMOND Caroline McGrogan

AS PARTNERSHIPS’ RICHMOND TEAM says Caroline. “We are looking at how the teams are STARTS ITS SECOND YEAR OF THE structured and asking whether there would be a more CONTRACT, 163 MET THE TEAM. productive way to deliver.” This is an approach which has reaped rewards for the There’s a real buzz about Partnerships’ office in Richmond. voids team (next page). “We’re very proud of what they’ve And it’s not just because the team is preparing for an achieved,” says Caroline. “That’s a real success story.” internal Four Star Audit the following week. Another recent change in structure has seen the creation There have been changes here recently; with promotions of the new role of Office Manager, with former customer and new opportunities as general manager Caroline and community partner Laura Murphy taking on McGrogan oversees our work to keep improving our responsibility for organising support for the supervisors service to Paragon Community Housing Group’s residents. and managers, including training, health and safety Caroline, who joined Partnerships from a private checks, and the vehicle fleet. “It’s a key role,” sector FM provider a few months ago, describes her says Caroline, “And Laura is doing a really good job. management style as ‘hands on’. “For me, it’s really It’s making such a difference.” important to work very closely with the teams to make Willmott Dixon teams are a familiar sight in South West London sure that I know what the issues are, and that they are properly equipped to deal with those issues,” Article continues

26 27 Martin Ballard brokered a unique tie-up with the Wildlife Trusts to access their expertise on projects ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

DIVERSITY AND FLEXIBILITY One project last year saw staff members working at a local allotment to rebuild a shed and improve pathways. Partnerships won the five-year contract with Paragon, which sees it handle around 21,000 repairs and 550 voids “We look for projects where we can play to our strengths, a year, in April 2014. But this wasn’t a new patch for so that we can really leave a lasting legacy,” says Laura. the business: it had been given an emergency contract by Paragon 18 months earlier, when the previous This team also has strong links with Brooklands College incumbent’s contract was terminated. and provides many work experience placements to students of various trades, and to others who come to “Getting the logistics right is crucial,” says Caroline. site via the Job Centre or other routes. Apprentice admin Organising those 15,000 repairs on nearly 7,000 assistant Richard Baker, the son of one of the Richmond properties in the London boroughs of Richmond and repairs team, joined the office team having come for a Elmbridge with 25 operatives and challenging timescales two-week work experience stint. requires some co-ordination. There’s plenty of positivity here. Laura sums up the “The process has to be automated,” says Caroline. feeling in the office. “We are in a good place as a team. Partnerships is currently working towards implementing We know that we have to support each other, and that optimiser software at the branch to make the allocation feeds through into better results operationally.” of jobs more efficient. “We are fine-tuning the software at the moment but I expect that it will make a significant MARTIN SHOWS HIS difference once implemented.” There are additional challenges here, too. “There is quite a diverse set of residents, and quite a large number of This poster highlights the value of our vulnerable residents,” says Caroline, “people in supported collaboration with the Wildlife Trusts housing, elderly residents and people with mental health WILD SIDE issues. That means we have to be flexible enough to provide the service that an individual requires, depending With clients and end-users conscious about how our a key role to play in restoring these connections. Our on their need.” operations could interact with their local wildlife, having consultancies will work with Willmott Dixon to support its The Richmond team is also reaching out to vulnerable access to the right skills to mitigate any impact is aims of building great places for both people and wildlife.” members of the community through its involvement with crucial. However, we also have the opportunity to create Martin adds, “This gives us a unique edge over other the Walton Charity, which provides grants and support for Partnerships has a five-year contract with Paragon to enhancements that make a real difference and support handle around 21,000 repairs and 550 voids a year companies in how we make a lasting impact on the individuals and smaller local charities and organisations. our lasting legacy beyond a project’s completion. delicate eco-system around projects. We call on this Our company is a market leader in diverting waste from expertise on new build, brownfield developments and landfill, averaging over 90% on projects, and remains the refurbishment activities. Acting as the catalyst, we can only one in its sector to be carbon neutral. However, work to bring together our clients and the county’s HEROES OF THE VOIDS we never stand still as a responsible business! Wildlife Trust to ensure that what we have established is carried forward, we hope for new and future communities A rethink in the way the voids team on Partnerships’ Other improvements included providing a better Group environment manager Martin Ballard has struck in perpetuity.” contract for Paragon Housing is run has resulted in stock of materials for the vans, which has improved an agreement that builds on our relationship with the the average time it takes to turn an empty house efficiency and reduced journeys and carbon emissions, Wildlife Trusts, to provide project teams with the expertise Services will continue to be provided by four regional leads round being slashed in half. It’s an achievement which and setting up procurement deals so that goods can for managing impacts on local habitants. Martin explains, (see box), which will facilitate access to local consultants voids manager Phil Robinson is rightly proud of. be sourced from fewer suppliers. Procedures and “This is a unique link-up to bring community and ecological for each site. The framework is non-exclusive though paperwork were scrapped and simplified. value to our activities. Since we created the agreement last Martin is keen to stress that having explored practicalities, “We always keep in mind that this is somebody’s year, several projects have worked with the Trusts’ team the benefits of working with the Wildlife Trusts were clear, home, and that they are waiting to move in,” says Phil. “We changed every system we had in place over six of local experts. Two examples are Carr Lodge in Doncaster, in addition to reinvestment for the local community and “That’s a real driver for us.” months,” says Phil, who officially took on the role of where we have developed a local habitat close to the wildlife, as we already had existing relationships with voids manager, a new post, at the beginning of the So how did Phil and the 21-strong voids team achieve school, and the Bicester eco-village, where the team has several of the Trusts’ ecological consultancies. year. Phil’s position of voids supervisor, one of three, been able to plan a habitat enhancement for a local village.” this impressive feat? “We looked at the team we has been filled by Jordan Whitham, previously had and the people we had and tried to work out a carpenter on the voids team. In addition, under the link-up, we can access teams from WILDLIFE TRUSTS CONTACTS: what their strengths and weaknesses are,” says Phil. the Wildlife Trusts’ network of ecological consultancies “Some people are naturally quicker than others so “That’s one of the things I like about working here,” to provide advice and services to nurture local habitats NORTH SOUTH EAST we put them on the short-term voids to get a quick says Phil, who started out for Partnerships as a on projects, with local ecologists working side by side to 0191 285 4412 01483 795 465 turnaround. Other operatives are more methodical, plumber. “They promote from within, so if you want ensure we enhance local biodiversity. Wildlife Trusts chief MIDLANDS SOUTH WEST so we put them on bigger, more complex voids.” to get on, you can do.” executive Stephanie Hilborne says, “Wildlife is not always 01676 525 880 01823 652 425 built into developments and the construction sector has

28 29 Inside one of our latest Sunesis schools, Kempston Rural for Beds Borough Council ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015 SCHOOLS FLOCK TO SUNESIS

FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, A PRIVATE VARIETY THE SPICE OF LIFE DEVELOPER HAS SIGNED UP FOR A SUNESIS There are five schools in the Sunesis education range: OFF-THE-SHELF SCHOOL. WE CAUGHT UP Keynes2, Paxton2, Dewey, Newton and Mondrian. WITH PRODUCT DIRECTOR TIM CAREY TO The first four are primary schools, Mondrian being FIND OUT MORE. a secondary school concept. There are also Sunesis leisure models. Up until now, all have been delivered It’s safe to say that the Sunesis idea – where buying a under the Scape Framework, for which Willmott Dixon NEW COMPANY school becomes like buying a car – has been successful. is the sole contractor. Since its launch in 2011 with Scape, 23 schools have been The new company, Sunesis Build Limited, owned 50:50 by “We have delivered procured this way. Willmott Dixon and Scape developed the designs for the Scape Venture and Willmott Dixon, can licence the Sunesis schools based on the knowledge and experience gained models to be built by others, with the approval Sunesis schools for That number could grow quite quickly as a new formalised on designing and building a huge number of schools for of the Sunesis Build board. In Scotland and Northern agreement between our company and Scape means different authorities. They listened to feedback, took the Ireland, our Scape partners Roberstons and Farrans will 12 local authorities, that private companies can now buy a Sunesis school, bits that worked, left out the bits that didn’t and came build them. taking advantage of the ability to buy a set product up with models to suit different sites, teaching styles Sunesis Build Limited will use the license fee it charges – with more lining up to buy” for a set budget, delivered in a set timescale. This is and budgets. particularly important for house builders who have to which replaces the Scape Product Fee – for each school or Tim Carey provide schools for section 106 agreements, with Berkeley The rest is history, with Keynes – now in its second leisure centre to be built to fund further development and to grow the market for the brand. Any profit left over will likely to be the first to sign up to a Sunesis solution. iteration – the most popular, followed by the Dewey and AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION the Paxton, which has also been updated since its first then be shared between Willmott Dixon and Scape. “This is a good solution for the developer and for the design. Tim says, “We have delivered schools for 12 local Though Tim does acknowledge opening Sunesis up to the Though Sunesis’ new clients will be getting exactly the local authority involved,” says product director Tim authorities, all primary to date, providing new one, two wider market gives competitors the chance to copy our same benefits as its clients to date – a fixed price and Carey. “When a developer has to make a commuted and three-form entry facilities. We expect there to be designs, he believes that we have a pretty decent head duration – there is a slight change in the proposition, sum payment for a new school under a section 106 demand for a Sunesis secondary school in coming years, start. “We need to focus on ensuring our offer remains explains Tim. “Originally we were selling an absolutely agreement, it’s always contentious: the developer once the population bulge reaches that age.” Planning the best in the marketplace, as opposed to concentrating fixed design. The message was ‘order one or don’t’. doesn’t want to overpay, and the local authority wants ahead, Tim explains. “We are developing the Mondrian; on the competition,” he says. “We have the benefit of Now we are saying that, while we believe that the designs to ensure it is getting a building fit for purpose. it’s evolving to be a more flexible kit of parts that can the supply chain agreements, experience of delivery and we have are the most efficient, if you want to make This way they’re both happy.” be configured to match the site and the requirements we have the benefit of BIM models. We’re already on the modifications we can do it for you, but there will be an of the school.” second versions of Keynes and Paxton, with a new version impact; you won’t have as much certainty.” of the Dewey planned.” “We are striving to achieve a The supply chain agreements ensure that the Sunesis brand is protected – one of Tim’s most important jobs. consistent product,” explains When the first few Sunesis schools were delivered, a Tim. “They have to look and performance specification was used, but that changed to a fixed specification with named suppliers; for example, feel the same. There will be one manufacturer supplies all the windows, which are then fitted by approved contractors. differences of course: schools What no other contractor can offer is our track record, can customise to some extent, with happy customers, several of which have procured more than one school this way. Prospective clients can such as colour schemes go to the website, see where the 23 projects are and even watch some of the live ones on webcam. and flooring” Product director Tim Carey; “Focus on ensuring our offer remains Developers are attracted to the simplicity and cost of Sunesis the best, as opposed to concentrating on the competition” With the formation of the new company, that track record Tim Carey is only going to get more impressive.

30 31 Given the sensitivity of a huge development in a small, market town, Flemingate is designed to sensitively complement existing buildings in Beverley ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

Wykeland, the developer, had owned the site of a former SHOPPING CENTRE IN DISGUISE abattoir and tannery for fourteen years before getting Given the sensitivity of building such a huge development the green light on the £120m mixed-use Flemingate. in a small, market town, the architects devised an It needed an experienced company to build it, and ingenious ploy to disguise the six huge blocks. They opportunity knocked for the Manchester office. created shop fronts projecting different degrees into the The ancient town has long been a favourite of the well- street and designed sloped mansard roofs to connect to heeled, who take advantage of the regular race meets, the enormous stores. As a result, even the huge 500-space the incredible minster and gorgeous countryside. It has multi-storey car park will be hidden from pedestrians at a wealth of small, independent retailers and a market street level when the project is finished. sitting along cobbled streets, but shoppers have had to Manchester developed design alongside the client as travel to either Hull or York for the large chain stores. preferred bidder to reach a guaranteed maximum price Not for much longer! (GMP) in March 2013. The shell-and-core job started on Economists estimate there is £1.39bn unspent in the site in May 2014 after the team made £1.6m-worth of 638,100 local shoppers’ pockets. This explains why both savings from the design to meet client’s cost. the landlord and local authority were keen to overcome Operations director Peter Gleave explains, “The fragility major obstacles to build this vast shopping centre with of the medieval town-scape meant traditional its 700 potential jobs in a highly sensitive location. continuous piling-driving down to 15m would risk Nine years in the planning, Flemingate was no small damaging the structures. So, the team was planning proposition. When complete this December, the 16-acre to drill holes and pump in concrete instead, to reduce site will house a cinema, a 500-space multi-storey car impact, but drill piles are slower to create, result in more park, a 40,000 sq. ft Debenhams, 162,600 sq. ft of other construction waste and need a concrete works on-site retail, a five-screen cinema and 130 new homes and a and use more of the material.” college campus. Article continues PETER’S LOVE FOR BEVERLEY BEVERLEY IN YORKSHIRE IS UNDERGOING THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN ITS HISTORY WITH OVER 200,000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL AND LEISURE SPACE. IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MAJOR SCHEMES IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND TO RESTART FOLLOWING THE RECESSION AND AS 163 FOUND OUT, THE TEAM LED BY PETER GLEAVE ARE CREATING A STIMULUS FOR THE TOWN’S FUTURE GROWTH.

Likely lads: Peter Gleave, left, and Russ Parks are leading Sky view; pictures from a drone show Flemingate’s our team at Flemingate in Beverley scale with the minister in the background

32 33 ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

elsewhere around the town. But bricks are a highly volatile concrete,” he says. “Local spend means we can sort stuff than block wall and plasterboard. Success was achieved by “We source bricks from local commodity at the moment, so the team held numerous out quicker, we are not transporting people and materials “managing retailers’ expectations and perceptions of the meetings with Wykeland and planning in order to find an vast distances - so are saving on carbon emissions.” product,” says Peter. suppliers to keep better affordable yet acceptable product. Russ also adds, “It’s a very popular message when we Keeping the multi-phased development on track control over supply” Russ explains “We are sourcing bricks from local say the money is going into their community. It’s a (Debenhams is already handed over and others are to Russ Parks suppliers in order to keep better control over supply, reinvestment cycle where the general public benefits and come up to week 73) is so important that Willmott Dixon where prices have risen between 3– 4% since the given that East Yorkshire is ripe for development, building has employed two architects on-site to ensure the details downturn. The demand is currently so great that pre- up the local supply chain offers a guarantee of good are correctly created and preventing snagging and other In order to get the best of both worlds, the team ordered pallets can easily be whisked from brick yards resources on future jobs.” client disputes. measured the impact of vibrations on selected structures, if subcontractors are slow off the blocks. And a lack of and worked out that two-thirds could be driven in - saving materials would obviously hold up the programme!” SATURDAY SUPERSTORE a significant portion of time and money. The team mitigated this risk by pre-ordering 250,000 The Saturday Surgeries are held once monthly by “Local spend means we can Peter, his construction manager Russ Parks and the team bricks and storing them in the frame of the multi-storey Russ and local residents can field comments. These are then worked with planning to reduce the number of car park for fast access. Local supplier, SDS stored 150,000 combined with a weekly letter drop that updates residents sort stuff out quicker” feature dormers on the parapets - an original feature that bricks onsite as well. on progress. matched the local environment but busted the budget. Peter Gleave Liaison with the local community helped the team work KEEPING IT LOCAL BRICKS, BRICKS AND MORE BRICKS through potential issues around noise, such as power- This emphasis on local spend extends into the concrete floating (polishing) concrete slabs in an open-frame steel Bricks were another area where value engineering had to £3.2M OF TURNOVER IN A MONTH suppliers with Robin Concrete from Hull, SJ Scaffolding building. As a result of meetings, the team rescheduled the be carried out sensitively. Five different types of brick were from Lincoln and groundwork company Sangwin from concrete floors to carry out work later in the day. The project has sometimes hit £3.2m of turnover in required with one million bricks going into the project. The Kingston-upon-Hull. Peter is passionate about going one month with up to 200 people working at any one Council Planning Department needed to make sure facings local, “There’s no point going to Cemex and waiting for The result has been, says Russ, “very successful, and we time. That they are keeping up to schedule is helped blended with the 12th and 13th-century stock found have had a lot of compliments on what we do.” by the team’s use of Willmott Dixon’s Priority One tablet-based work sign-off system. Flemingate has been audited as one of the best sites nationally. All permits, quality checking and other systems are signed off without paper. The benefit of this, says Peter, is that managers are not constantly back and forth to store chitties in the site office but out on-site. “Productive man-hours are significantly increased and the reports pull in photos. The supply chain becomes more efficient. So the quality has raised as well.” Beverley is more than just Yorkshire’s biggest mixed use development, it’s another example of our technical excellence and commitment to quality.

The footprint for Flemingate is huge, covering 16-acres

ALL ABOUT STRUCTURE Apart from Block G, the hotel, structures are constructed of lightweight steel-frames with block work. The hotel is of wooden frame to allow completion within the short timing. Due to the nature of the building, brickwork is off the critical path and so internal fit-out is being carried out even though the brickwork has started.

Getting set; Peter and Russ emerge from site after checking latest But the lightweight steel frame construction stipulated by progress on a project turning over up to £3.2 million a month the client was not immediately pleasing to retail tenants, who were concerned that it would provide less security

34 35 Looking ahead…Cobham is delivering one of the largest mixed-use schemes in Southampton

HOUSING AND COBHAM’S SKY-HIGH CHALLENGE

WHEN A SKY-HIGH DEVELOPMENT IN This project is the first time Cobham has teamed up with “client issues tracker.” This covers sequencing, commercial Housing and Cobham construction manager Matthew and logistical items. As such, it is up to Crest to identify Richard Weaving, right, and Mircea Lucescu run through SOUTHAMPTON THAT WILL DELIVER HOMES, quality checks SUPERMARKETS, CAFES AND PUBLIC AREAS Kemp calls it a great showcase for how we bring together the owner and problem and force the closure date. skills from Housing and Construction for clients, similar to NEEDED TO BE BUILT, IT WAS A CHANCE TO Tesco Woolwich. “We are saying to them, ‘help us to help you,’ says COMBINE ISLINGTON’S HOUSING SKILLS Matthew. “It makes the project work better and helps WITH COBHAM’S CONSTRUCTION KNOW- WORKING IN HARMONY WITH everyone work in a robust and professional manner.” HOW. 163 FOUND OUT MORE. THE DEVELOPER An example of the type of issues solved ahead of time was the creation of the 80x3m canopy over the entrance When it is complete, Crest Nicholson’s £500m mixed-use As Cobham completes the structural frame, a key area to the apartment block which the team took care of in Centenary Quay will comprise more than 1,600 homes, is to work seamlessly with Crest on things like M&E, exchange for work on a drain which had not been fully with the mammoth scheme carried out in eight phases. water and gas. “We’ve got to have regular two way communications at site management level to ensure taken account of in the plans. It’s currently on phase three, where Housing Islington is we don’t interfere with each other’s respective work,” Further challenges arrived in the form of working with working with Cobham to create a new iconic structure on Matthew says. the concrete frame built by another contactor. An extra the town’s skyline. “We are saying to them, ‘help “Crest is used to dealing with smaller subcontractors,” process of checking was needed to make sure that The £21m-value phase three includes a 350-space car says Matthew. “So we needed to be robust and forthright everything was corrected, with Cobham allowed an us to help you’. It makes the park, Morrisons supermarket, two small retail units and in our approach.” extra month to go through the process and come up 200 flats in three blocks. Cobham is building the blocks with solutions. They discovered, for example, that some project work better and helps while Housing is fitting-out and finishing the first 100 This meant bringing any issues into the open as quickly as slab edges were in the wrong place and needed to be everyone work in a robust and apartments by late November 2015, while Crest fits out possible. So the team encouraged the client to look three ground down. the remaining 100. months ahead and raise items before time using a professional manner”

Article continues Matthew Kemp

36 37 ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

“We can’t take our eyes AVOIDING LATE PENALTIES The project has 31 sectional completions, each with off these sections” a financial penalty attached. The largest of these is Morrisons which handed over on 10 July and would have Matthew Kemp seen a substantial financial penalty for each week missed trading days. Crest’s commercial savvy extends to realising the sale and “Four huge tower cranes on site once made things easier, rental value on flats as soon as they are completed from though it is true their terrific lifting power was somewhat August - even before our team have left the development. impacted by the extreme winter winds coming off the sea. Housing is assisting with the high-rise residential elements Above a certain wind speed, the operators would have to This also means that systems such as smoke extract, fire stop work. Perhaps half of work days were lost this way, “ warning, chlorination, light and TV systems all need to be says Kemp. working from day one. There is a dedicated commissioning PACKAGES LARGE AND EXPENSIVE, engineer to oversee this process and make sure all pipes However, since these cranes rose up through the roof SMALL AND INTRICATE and wires are in place. He is only responsible for, as an of the supermarket, they had to be dispensed with in Matthew Kemp “Finishing the blocks and providing a phased example, making sure the fire alarm is talking to do the handover is a crux of the project” Meanwhile, the logistics are mind-boggling. There are 20 time. So the podium is where things start and end door - and he doesn’t get involved in day-to-day M&E. phased handovers covering 20-30 different areas of work. up. Even moderate damage to the roof could cause And where some packages are small in value, they remain catastrophic leaks. For Cobham and Islington, the biggest risk of working where people live is ensuring residents are secure. Once fiddly and detailed. For example, a management suite in Further friction is eliminated by insisting on a design “We are not building from the ground, we are building the car park and stair cores are finished, access will the centre of the development contains items such as fire surgery with the architects one day a week. “They come from 6m up,” says Kemp. “Every piece of material has to be controlled through temporary fire doors. With two alarms and access control. down to site for a full day to work out the niggly details get up high and waste has to get down. It puts a huge staircases in each building, one will be used for fit out and minor drawing approvals,” Matthew says. “We don’t “Whilst piecemeal, they are absolutely key to completion strain on vertical logistics.” (”light construction traffic”) and the residents will climb want anyone to feel alienated. We want them to feel of the project - so we can’t take our eyes off these the other. Flat-dwellers will be able to exit using a push- The Cobham team gets things up and down by using welcomed and part of the team.” sections,” says Matthew, who formed an effect bar, making sure no one can get in. hoist and a load-bearing gantry moves materials up to relationship with Housing’s Clive Lewis and Rob Jackson. The obvious benefit is making the project easier and faster where they are needed. Logistics get tight because, for “It will be tough,” says Matthew. “But finishing the to build - by, for example, grouping the unifying coping The biggest technical challenge is to build the blocks of example, one of the huge floor requires seventy pallets of blocks and providing a phased handover is the crux details and soffits details into one or two types. flats on the top of a large supermarket due to be fitted plasterboard. As a result, 20 contractors might want to use of the project.” out in July. the lift at any one time. Come November, Cobham and Islington will be justly FOCUSING ON DETAIL proud of the sparkling new settlement they have helped The team’s solution to making sure tight deadlines raise on the site of a former munitions factory. were met was to create the perfect programme for one particular flat (they are prefabricated and arrive as cassettes) and then track progress of the trades through a group of units. This ideal programme was generated by carrying out numerous workshops the five main trades on the job, looking at all the steps involved from start to finish. The process involved numerous tweaks, drilling down to levels as details as whether a bath panel goes in sooner or later. Once that was finalised, the live matrix began to track progress through grouped units. The results are displayed live via a networked computer programme so the construction managers can see how things are moving along. Each bar represents eight weeks and sequential trades are not allowed to begin work before the prior trade has been signed off. “We closely monitor the programme and maintain the sequence. Because it’s so detailed, we can jump on if things are slipping,” says Matthew. Centenary Quay will be the hub of a thriving new community in what was previously a neglected area

38 39 The scale and size is one of the eye-catching features of Centenary Quay The compliance pods are a great new addition to the 4Life Academy in Birmingham ONESIXTHREE SUMMER 2015

HOUSING’S QUALITY ZONE

OUR 4LIFE ACADEMY IS AGAIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOR A MAJOR LEARNING “It’s a sophisticated set-up INITIATIVE. THE FACILITY THAT TRAINS to ensure we are equipped to OVER 5,000 PEOPLE A YEAR IS NOW HOME TO A SERIES OF SPECIAL COMPLIANCE PODS meet the exacting standards CREATED BY HOUSING TO AID ITS FOCUS clients expect” ON QUALITY FINISHES. Charlie Scherer Housing COO Charlie Scherer explains, “In our business, delivering a ‘ready for occupation’ product is essential, so these training pods allow our teams to focus on performance in key areas like bricklaying, drainage, bathrooms and kitchens. It’s part of our determination to make our people the best there is in the house building industry.” Set up in a series of zones, each pod has life size mock- ups that are replicated on drawings uploaded to Priority1. By comparing the drawings and specifications with the Delegates are put through their paces on roofing, just one area mock-ups, delegates are challenged to identify defects covered by the compliance pods and non-compliance. Charlie attended a trial course in the Spring; “It’s a sophisticated set-up, with conditions ideal for learning and sharing best practice. We have to meet exacting standards and this is very much part of my drive to produce faultless homes prior to client inspection.”

COMPLIANCE POD COURSE CONTENT • The consequences of poor quality • Case studies • Responsibility for quality • Practical fault finding sessions • Ready for occupation Compliance manager Jo Weston, standing left, inspects the fault • Lessons learnt detection prowess of the latest batch of course attendees