星空传媒

Gold

Set in an environmentally sensitive area, on the flood plain of the adjacent river within a working farm and college, this unusual project set the scene for David Jones鈥� superb undertaking.

He recovered enough stone from the demolition of the old farm buildings to clad the new structures, crushing the surplus on site to help raise the new buildings above the 100-year flood level, and an emergency access road by 1.2m over a length of 700m. And it was Jones鈥� idea to use ground depressions and bunds as balancing ponds to hold the same volume of water as would be displaced by the new buildings in the flood plain.

Although the original start date was postponed until full funding was in place, the completion date remained fixed as the buildings had to be ready for the next academic year and the farm cattle needed winter quarters. Jones saw the risk to the finishes if there was a delay in making the buildings watertight, so he fixed insulated cladding sheets to the steel frame, which took the fixing of the roof slates off the critical path.

He drew up a detailed site setup plan, giving 500 cattle access to the milking parlour at all times, and isolated site traffic from college traffic while allowing milk tankers and tractors to pass through each day.

Although there was no formal partnering element to this contract, Jones ensured a partnering spirit prevailed. Most of the subcontractors and the direct labour force had worked with Jones before and knew his methods and insistence on quality 鈥� as did the client when the clerk of works complained there was nothing for him to do on site!

鈥滻 would hate to play chess against him as he always seems to have anticipated the next move!鈥� reads one of his citations. Or, as Jones himself says: 鈥淚 am doing my job properly if I can have tomorrow off and the job carries on without me.鈥�

Silver

While Midas had prequalified with the client for this type of contract, neither party had previously worked together, so it was particularly important for the contractor that the first job should be a success. It was, and much of the credit must go to Simon Williams鈥� management expertise.

The client had appointed a design team, who were novated to Midas. Between them they had to produce three different design alternatives for the client to pick from. It is clear that Williams was more than just the team leader at this stage. The lead designer describes him as a very successful intermediary between design and construction, who did not try to dilute the design intent to achieve cost or programme constraints.

Williams managed the tight construction period by resolving many of the design and buildability issues in the preconstruction phase. For example, he replaced the usual concrete floor slab with a fibre-reinforced slab floating independently of the piled substructure to give a high-tolerance finish while eliminating the need for rebar and movement joints.

To achieve the client-specified top eco-rating, Williams laid permeable paving to control the flow of water to adjacent wet areas, installed specially selected glazing instead of air conditioning in the offices, and procured recyclable materials wherever possible. On completion, Williams arranged for BRE to do an infrared survey and airtightness test. Both were successful and no remedial works were required.

Williams鈥� management style has been described as 鈥渇irm and influential, but respectful of his fellow team members鈥�. He took great care to understand the client鈥檚 requirements, aspirations and limitations, and the open and non-confrontational working environment he established allowed his team to produce a landmark building.

Commended