Our £13m contract was divided into three phases: the first to structurally refurbish the existing concrete testing workshop; the second to strip out the teaching spaces and create new laboratory spaces; and the third to create a new lecture theatre and additional teaching spaces.

The building remained occupied and in use throughout the 18month programme of works, so careful timetabling and observation of stringent noise and access restrictions was critical, aided by close liaison with the university.

In order to put in a new mezzanine floor in the concrete testing workshop we needed to strengthen the double-height steel structure and incorporate a new steelwork support structure and concrete slab. The design stage involved a great deal of investigation works as there were no construction records for the building.

The new workshop included office and teaching accommodation, storage and further offices over two mezzanine floors provided in a double-height space, and light refurbishment of some existing areas to provide a fully-serviced environment and more office and concrete preparation areas. The services installation and final commissioning was a precision operation as the allowable fluctuation in temperature was extremely small. Needless to say, this area was subject to close scrutiny during validation.

Creating the new lecture theatre and adjacent teaching space involved more structural work. After extensive investigation and design work we used reinforced concrete to create a double-height stair-core, using a design which would allow its future extension into the space above and support for the existing slab edges.

The lecture theatre’s services infrastructure was routed through the high level ceiling void: an airtight plenum directly beneath the theatre featuring more than 200 apertures in the slab to allow fresh air movement. Finally we fitted out the theatre and teaching spaces.

The result is a bright and modern facility suitable for training, seminars, meetings and conferences. Some classrooms will seat almost 100 and are flexible enough to be opened up into larger spaces, suitable for breakout zones from a larger conference held in the stylishly decorated lecture theatre.

“OUR DESIGN AND REFURBISHMENT PROJECT WAS THE FIRST STAGE IN A WIDER MASTER-PLAN TO UPGRADE THE CAMPUS.”

In 2007, a £26m restoration, refurbishment and extension project began which would bring together various collections under the newly re-branded attraction.

Much of the refurbishment was a studied conservation. The sandstone façade was repaired to preserve the aged feel, windows were reconditioned and timber doors repaired. The internal stone stairwells and interior walls were restored using traditional lime-based plaster, paint and horsehair, the original flooring was lifted, restored and replaced, lighting was updated and a new roof installed.

We opened up small, separate galleries to create three larger galleries. There’s now a seamless transition from the original building to the new three-storey extension at the back. As well as a library, café and archive and meeting rooms, the new building features a 5,167sq ft exhibition room. The room has floor-to-ceiling windows which can be shuttered for exhibitions or left open when used as a hire venue.

New M & E services, including lift installation, air conditioning, IT room provision and interactive whiteboards and data projection facilities, bring the venue completely up to date. In 2009 HM The Queen opened the Great North Museum to an eager public. 10,000 visitors arrived on the first day and more than 852,000 over the course of the year; a tenfold increase in visitors from before the refurbishment. Most importantly, that tenfold increase in visitor numbers also delivered a 98% visitor satisfaction rating.

Since 2009 it has won the British Interactive Media Award, the Renaissance Museum Award in the Journal Culture Awards, the Northern Marketing Awards and the Journal NE Culture Award for best museum in the region. It received an interior design commendation in the World Architecture Fair Awards in Barcelona in 2009, and was long-listed for the Art Fund Prize in 2010 and shortlisted for the Guardian Family Friendly Awards. In May 2011 the Great North Museum was also shortlisted for the European Museum of the Year.

“HAVING WORKED ACROSS A NUMBER OF AREAS WITHIN THE HOSPITAL CAMPUS, WE ARE ACUTELY AWARE OF THE NEED TO MANAGE THE I&R PROCESS WITH CARE, ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND A REAL UNDERSTANDING OF PATIENT NEEDS.”

The building had been home to the university’s postgraduate needs at the Hammersmith Campus for a long time, and as an integral part of an overarching scheme to redevelop the eastern side of the campus, a significant redesign and renovation was required.

Visually the most impressive of the works undertaken, the redesign of the Stamp Lecture Theatre has transformed the space into a state of the art 250seat auditorium with a new mezzanine floor. We had a model built of the proposed lecture theatre in order to help the various university stakeholders to visualise properly what the future would hold, and of course to explore colour palettes. Beneath the mezzanine floor, in what was formerly dead space, we provided a run of extremely flexible seminar rooms which can be used independently or combined for large group use.

A new lift shaft was created to serve the lecture theatre; a new ground-floor restaurant and kitchen area serves the needs of all building users, and we converted the basement to house a new scanning suite and plant room.

The end result is an open-plan, thoroughly modern, bright and airy learning and research facility which will enhance Imperial College’s high standing and help the university to maintain its enviable world-class reputation.

“THIS CENTRE IS A CENTRAL PART OF OUR VISION FOR THE HAMMERSMITH CAMPUS. IT WILL BE OUR COMMUNICATION HUB – A CENTRE THAT BRINGS TOGETHER OUR BRIGHTEST AND BEST MINDS TO SHARE IDEAS AND EDUCATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF DOCTORS AND RESEARCHERS.”

PROFESSOR STEPHEN SMITH
Wolfson Education Centre

MARS and MAU Department
Our final brief was to carry out a full refurbishment of the two top floors of the MARS building, which had previously been earmarked for demolition. At the same time the MAU would be partially re-modelled to improve privacy and dignity for patients. The new wards allow room for a stroke and rehabilitation ward as well as a ward dedicated to caring for patients with diabetes and endocrine problems.

Emergency Care Centre
The plan for a new emergency care centre brought together the existing A&E services and the GP out-of-hours service to provide a single point of treatment.

The first phase involved refurbishing the existing rehab department to provide a temporary home to A&E, which was followed by the construction of a new link corridor between A&E and the main hospital, and then changing the road layout in front of the hospital for faster ambulance access. Once these phases were complete, we extended the hospital frontage for additional space and refurbished the existing A&E.

Physio/Histology/MLBU/ MDAU Departments
We created a new Maternity Day Assessment Unit (MDAU) facility; an outpatient assessment area where pregnant women can be examined, advised and treated by midwives. The existing maternity ward needed remodelling and refurbishing to create a new state-of-theart Midwife-Led Birthing Unit (MLBU). We installed a new reception and waiting area, kitchenette, two birthing rooms and a two-bed rest area.

Ward Refurbishment
We carried out a rolling programme of ward refurbishments in response to the Trust’s aim to reduce the incidence of cross-infection. As well as realigning walls and building new en suites, we carried out a full service replacement.

“HAVING WORKED ACROSS A NUMBER OF AREAS WITHIN THE HOSPITAL CAMPUS, WE ARE ACUTELY AWARE OF THE NEED TO MANAGE THE I&R PROCESS WITH CARE, ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND A REAL UNDERSTANDING OF PATIENT NEEDS.”

As we’d be helping to build a major CV centre of excellence for both training and research, we were acutely aware of the human importance of our fitout from shell and core.

The centre takes the shape of two buildings, each of which can be accessed through adjoining doors. The first step was a series of structural alterations, installing supporting steelwork and floor plates, and new glazing for the courtyard, as well as new louvres and solar shading. The roof and basement housed the significant amount of M&E plant and equipment, and the remaining space comprised research labs, day units, pharmacy, office space and meeting rooms, separated by solid and glazed partitions, as well as a naturally lit and open reception area on the ground floor.

We were in almost daily contact with our clients to ensure complete adherence to the brief created by their inhouse design team. The quality of the finished product was of vital importance, so we conducted quality inspections with the M&E consultants and subcontractors and inspected the site every other day with the project architect to ensure that any issues were identified and resolved on an ongoing basis. We completed the 48-week project on time and on budget.

“IN MY 28 YEARS IN CONSTRUCTION, THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST PROJECTS I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN.”

HASS FALAHAT
QMUL Project Manager

One of its most recent was our £5.4m design and build project to extend the hospital’s retail area in the north wing near the main entrance: an important facility for patients, visitors and staff alike. The existing shopping space was congested and dated, and the Trust saw an opportunity for increased income from additional retail units.

Our brief was to strip out the existing space, extend the ground floor area and then reconfigure the space to form five retail units in place of the three existing units, including a Marks & Spencer Simply Food and Café. The design for the new retail space and circulation area aimed to recreate an airportlike appearance: open, airy, bright, crisp and modern.

The hospital needed to remain in full use, and the existing shops needed to continue trading. Close consultation with the entire project team, the Trust and retailers, as well as liaison with the hospital staff and patients, was critical to a smooth programme. We held weekly update and ‘lookahead’ meetings with hospital management, kept in regular touch with all stakeholders, achieved design signoff for all retail units from each individual retailer as well as the Trust and provided temporary trading units for retailers’ use during the 27week programme.

As well as providing new, larger retail units featuring curved bulkhead walls and Dormer sliding security doors, we refurbished the reconfigured circulation areas to an extremely high specification, including integrated wayfinder lanterns, feature lightwall, fourstar toilet facilities and stone floor tiling. We installed new escape staircases and bespoke reception and security desks with associated data and security feeds to increase patient and staff safety.

“THE EXISTING SHOPPING SPACE WAS CONGESTED AND DATED, AND THE TRUST SAW AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INCREASED INCOME FROM ADDITIONAL RETAIL UNITS. THE DESIGN FOR THE NEW RETAIL SPACE AND CIRCULATION AREA AIMED TO RECREATE AN AIRPORT-LIKE APPEARANCE: OPEN, AIRY, BRIGHT, CRISP AND MODERN.”

Business continuity was vital, so areas of the store were hoarded off to allow work to proceed during trading hours, and we scheduled extensive out-of-hours work to keep up with the demanding 26-week timetable. M&S had previously been on the receiving end of delayed openings from other contractors, and even had stores closed entirely due to problems, so our ability to work 24/7 without disrupting the store’s trading, even during asbestos removal works, was hugely important. We paid particular care to the complete protection of the live store areas during night shift operations in the food hall, requiring a rigid setup and breakdown routine to minimise any impact from the works.

Equally important was the careful planning and phasing of works; all building material and tool requirements needed to be moved into the hoarded-off construction areas before the store opened for trading each day.

The project involved the conversion of a former storage area on the first floor into a new retail trading area, including the installation of new ceilings, lighting, power, data and flooring, and created a new opening in the first floor slab to allow for the installation of two new escalators. The first floor also became home to a new M&S customer café designed to attract more shoppers and encourage longer shopping time.

We created a series of openings in the flat roof above the stock room for new services connection and installed new plant in the stock room without suffering any water or dust damage. We carried out a full refurbishment of the ground floor food hall and trading area, including new ceilings, shop fittings and refrigerators.

Marks & Spencer was keen to introduce a more welcoming feel to the store, so we carried out various structural alterations to the rear façade to form a two-storey glazed wall and feature entrance with canopy, allowing natural light to flood into the new store area. Finally we redecorated the exterior and installed new shop front and branding.

“THE FAST-TRACK REFURBISHMENT HAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED THE LOOK AND FEEL OF THE STORE, AND NUMEROUS LOCAL RESIDENTS APPROACHED OUR SITE MANAGEMENT TEAM TO COMPLIMENT THE DEVELOPMENT. MARKS & SPENCER’S REVIEW WAS EQUALLY FAVOURABLE, AND THIS PROJECT SECURED US A PLACE ON THE M&S NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK.”

In partnership with EPR Architects we were awarded the contract to carry out all the building works for a completely new fifth floor, M&E and the refurbishment of 28 bedrooms on the existing fourth floor. This was an architecturally sensitive undertaking that required close consultation with English Heritage.

In the club’s centenary year, guests will now approach their bedrooms on the new fifth floor along a breathtaking suspended glass corridor, and each room has rooftop views across St James’s and London. The 28 rooms below have been sympathetically refurbished, including new lighting and architraves, and we created two kitchen areas to serve both fourth and fifth floors. In addition, all works had to be conducted to a precise timetable. We identified ‘no noise’ periods and including pre-booked functions through regular meetings with the Club building management; giving as much as two months’ notice for major phases in our schedule of works.

Plant had to remain operational throughout, so we split the M&E services provision and the refurbishment of the fourth floor bedrooms. By concentrating on one end of the building we could hand over half of the fourth floor for guest use a full 13 weeks ahead of schedule, and completed the remaining rooms behind a false wall.

We chaired design coordination meetings to manage the interior design aspects of the project, and recognising the asbestos risk in a building of this age, held monthly asbestos awareness training courses for all site operatives.

The end result brings the Royal Automobile Club’s total accommodation to 104 rooms, the potential for greater revenue and the draw of those inspiring rooftop views. As the Club puts it: “and hasn’t it been worth the wait!”

“IN THE CLUB’S CENTENARY YEAR, GUESTS WILL NOW APPROACH THEIR BEDROOMS ON THE NEW FLOOR ALONG A BREATHTAKING SUSPENDED GLASS CORRIDOR, AND EACH ROOM HAS ROOFTOP VIEWS ACROSS ST JAMES’S AND LONDON.”

This historic building will be the focal point of a new piazza; its redevelopment part of the first phase of the 67acre, 8m sq ft regeneration of King’s Cross – the largest London site under single ownership to be redeveloped for over a century and a half.

Integral to the plans to create a truly international transport hub at King’s Cross are improved circulation, public space, hospitality and retail. We were awarded the design and build contract to deliver the first step for the structural alteration to the hotel’s ground floor and the creation of a new retail arcade and circulation route between King’s Cross and St Pancras stations.

The works involved replacing elements of the load-bearing masonry with new structural frames between ground and first floor, so that the ground floor could be removed and a new slab formed at street level. The existing first floor was then removed and replaced with a new concrete slab and beams to allow the structural walls within the new walkways to be demolished. At the same time we cleaned and re-pointed the brickwork to the hotel’s concave elevation.

The arcades will provide retail accommodation as well as the entrance to the Great Northern Hotel itself, which is due to be refurbished next. They respect the hotel’s fabric and character while creating a contemporary design feature in keeping with the King’s Cross modernisation programme.

This project was a critical first step in the plans for the relaunch of the Great Northern Hotel as a luxury hotel, giving it maximum exposure to the huge increase of domestic and international passengers expected when the new high-speed Javelin train service links St Pancras to the London Olympics stadia in Stratford in 2012.

“THIS HISTORIC BUILDING WILL BE THE FOCAL POINT OF A NEW PIAZZA; ITS REDEVELOPMENT PART OF THE REGENERATION OF KING’S CROSS SITE – THE LARGEST UNDER SINGLE OWNERSHIP TO BE REDEVELOPED FOR OVER A CENTURY AND A HALF.”

Our wide-ranging experience in restoration and refurbishment of listed and historically valuable buildings was vital to winning the contract to upgrade and revive the interior of BMA House. Central to the BMA’s vision was a change in public perception: from old-fashioned, traditional club to a more contemporary and vibrant organisation. So our refurbishment needed to retain, restore and respect the unique character and heritage of BMA House while creating an internal environment to rival modern buildings for function, workplace efficiency and technology. Our work involved refurbishing various state rooms and function facilities, and the development of five new event spaces – all in a live environment.

The centre piece of Lutyens’ original design was the Great Hall, and the restoration recognises the room’s importance. With the details painstakingly restored, it has also been modernised to become a 300seat conference and function hall with new stage area and an innovative automated retractable seating system – the first of its kind in the UK – allowing enormous flexibility in use. The result is an airy, light and refreshing ambience which successfully couples a century of heritage with the facilities to meet the diverse demands of its users.

In recognition of the quality of workmanship and the way the project was run, we received a gold medal in the restoration category of the Construction Manager of the Year Awards held by the Chartered Institute of Building.

“ THIS DEVELOPMENT PROVIDES US WITH A TOP-CLASS SET OF FACILITIES FOR THE USE OF OUR MEMBERS AND FOR THE MANY ORGANISATIONS WHICH HIRE OUR SPACE TO HOLD CONFERENCES AND FUNCTIONS. ”

DR DAVID PICKERSGILL
BMA