WORCESTER-based Mainstay Group has appointed a new Managing Director, following a period of planned and sustained growth. The full-service property management company has brought on Andy Billson to head up its residential property management arm of the business. Andy joins the Group from residential giant Barratt Homes, where as Managing
The Chartered Institute of Building has announced the 2019 Construction Manager of the Year. Sir Robert McAlpine manager Joseph McNeil beat off competition from 79 other finalists to claim the award. Mr McNeil secured the award for his first project as lead, working on complex refurbishment work at 120 Oxford
The development of Bristol’s tallest residential building marks a major project milestone. A 102m high crane has been erected at the Castle Park View site over Saturday and Sunday, 21-22 September. This will be the largest tower crane to be erected against the city skyline and remain a fixture for
As part of the 10th annual World Green Building Week, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has issued a bold new vision for how buildings and infrastructure around the world can reach 40% less embodied carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve 100% net zero emissions buildings by 2050. Together, building
WORCESTER-based Mainstay Group has appointed a new Managing Director, following a period of planned and sustained growth. The full-service property management company has brought on Andy Billson to head up its residential property management arm of the business. Andy joins the Group from residential giant Barratt Homes, where as Managing Director, he was responsible for introducing an in-house property management service – Barratt Residential Asset Management – from 2012, until its successful sale in March 2019. At the time, it was the first developer outside of the retirement sector to launch such a service. Prior to that, he held various operational roles during his 21-year career with the Peverel Group, including setting up its specialised mixed-use brand consort. In his new role at Mainstay, Andy will report in to Group Managing Director Luke Sanders, and will work alongside his predecessor, Gary Crook, who has a new role as Managing Director for New Ventures. Luke Sanders, Group Managing Director at Mainstay, said: “Andy’s appointment comes at a fitting time for Mainstay Group, as our residential part of the business continues to flourish and develop. “To have secured someone as knowledgeable and high-profile as Andy is testament not only to our past track record, but to our bright, exciting future. “His passion for innovation in real estate and his 29 years of experience in the sector are exactly why we hired him, as we look to drive forward our corporate strategy and enhance our offering.” Andy added: “Mainstay is committed to best-in-class customer experience and remaining on the cutting edge of property management – values which very much align with my own. “With that in mind, I’m delighted to be joining the team and playing a key role in helping to shape the direction the business goes in throughout this next period of growth.” Established in 2000, Mainstay was founded by Glyn Miles, Graham Donaldson and Andrew Tilly. The business now manages in excess of 80,000 homes across the UK, and headcount stands at 726. This year alone, Mainstay is on track to turnover a record-breaking £25.9 million in line with their 2020 corporate strategy. www.mainstaygroup.co.uk
The Chartered Institute of Building has announced the 2019 Construction Manager of the Year. Sir Robert McAlpine manager Joseph McNeil beat off competition from 79 other finalists to claim the award. Mr McNeil secured the award for his first project as lead, working on complex refurbishment work at 120 Oxford Street, London. Sir Robert McAlpine was offered this job following the failure, two weeks after site start, of the more competitively priced contractor that had originally won the tender. Joseph McNeil took on his first role as project manager without any prior knowledge of the scheme and with the lower storeys of the building already vacated, the hoardings up and the client keen to get the works restarted as fast as possible. Joseph quickly mobilised his team and got the early works packages moving. Even more importantly, he challenged the demolition methodology of diamond-saw cutting without percussive breaking. His successful proposal to use hydraulic crunching instead achieved substantial programme and cost benefits, as well as disruption-minimising low levels of noise, and allowed a contract agreement to be finalised. He overcame the substantial challenge of managing an incoming tenant’s requirements that conflicted with the specification for the screeding. His proposal of a mix of repair works, levelling compounds and new screeds represented a significant saving on the tenant’s original request for the removal and replacement of all existing screeds. It also accelerated the programme, allowing for an earlier unit completion and tenant occupation date. By working closely with his supply chain, Joseph was also able to offer improvements on the design team’s proposals. The most significant was for the reconfiguration of the building’s main power supplies to feed the new retail units: by re-using some elements of the existing low-voltage infrastructure, he reduced the scope of the new works and saved costs. The direct benefit the power solution brought the client was a relationship of trust and this was one of the principal drivers for the extensive contract growth on the project. Combined with defect and snag-free delivery on time and on budget, it has also resulted in Joseph’s appointment as leader of a team to deliver further opportunities for the client. Stephen Bradbury MCIOB, one of the judges for the refurbishment category, said: “This was Joseph’s first project as the lead. He delivered with passion and took ownership from the start on a tricky scheme in a difficult location. Joseph demonstrated a maturity of thought and decision making beyond his age or experience. This project had many opportunities to go wrong, but the detailed and methodical approach taken by Joseph made sure this was a success – and he delivered to such a high standard that Joseph has subsequently negotiated another project with the same client.” On winning the Construction Manager of the Year award, Joseph McNeil said: “It’s amazing. Now I’m going to be on the Wall of Fame in the corridor next year! I want to thank my team and I want to add that the ladies on my table were instrumental in the success of my project; certainly, three of the most influential people on my work are present and I want to thank them.” The award was presented at a ceremony in London last night, 18 September.
The development of Bristol’s tallest residential building marks a major project milestone. A 102m high crane has been erected at the Castle Park View site over Saturday and Sunday, 21-22 September. This will be the largest tower crane to be erected against the city skyline and remain a fixture for 18 months. Developer Linkcity and construction partner Bouygues UK are building the landmark building on the site of a former ambulance station next to the Finzels Reach development at Castle Park. When complete, it will provide 375 homes across 26 storeys, comprising 75 affordable properties, as well as 300 private one and two-bedroom apartments. “We are incredibly excited to have reached this important milestone in the construction of Castle Park View. At 26 storeys, this will be Bristol’s tallest residential building and so naturally requires a tower crane that is equally as monumental – we’re very much looking forward to this historic moment in the city’s development,” said Tony Rides, Castle Park View project manager from Bouygues UK. “We have also arranged for the crane to be erected over the weekend to limit disruption to the commute of thousands of people into the city and so have avoided the need for road closures.” The Castle View Park development is set to be complete by 2022.
As part of the 10th annual World Green Building Week, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has issued a bold new vision for how buildings and infrastructure around the world can reach 40% less embodied carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve 100% net zero emissions buildings by 2050. Together, building and construction are responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions in the world[1], with operational emissions (from energy used to heat, cool and light buildings) accounting for 28%. The remaining 11% comes from embodied carbon emissions, or ‘upfront’ carbon that is associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole building lifecycle. WorldGBC’s vision to fully decarbonise the sector requires eliminating both operational and embodied carbon emissions. The ‘Bringing embodied carbon upfront’ report proposes this ambitious goal alongside solutions to accelerate immediate action by the entire building and construction value chain. The vision is endorsed by representatives from developers and construction companies, financial institutions, city networks and government, as well as industry representatives from concrete, steel and timber and many more including: HeidelbergCement, Skanska, Stora Enso, Google and the Finnish Government. The report sets out to demystify the challenge of addressing embodied carbon emissions, through breaking down complex terminology and creating a common language to set a consensus-built definition for net zero embodied carbon. Embodied carbon emissions have been overlooked in the past but as shown by milestone research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), achieving drastic cuts in all carbon emissions over the next decade is critical to keeping global temperature rise to 1.5oC. Addressing upfront carbon is therefore crucial to fighting the climate crisis, as new construction is expected to double the worlds building stock by 2060 causing an increase in the carbon emissions occurring right now. Therefore, the new report is calling for coordinated action from across the sector to dramatically change the way buildings are designed, built, used and deconstructed. WorldGBC presents a clear pathway of actions that designers, investors, manufacturers, government, NGOs and researchers across the whole value chain can take to accelerate decarbonisation, address current market barriers and, develop low carbon alternative solutions for market. However, the report warns that change will not happen unless there is a radical shift in how industry works together to enable a market transformation. The transition towards mainstream net zero carbon standards requires immediate action to achieve greater awareness, innovation, improved processes to calculate, track and report embodied carbon, voluntary reduction targets from industry and roll out of new legislation at city, national and regional level. Approaches such as maximising the use of existing assets, promoting renovation instead of demolition and seeking new circular business models that reduce reliance on carbon intensive raw materials are also needed. To kick-start cross-sector collaboration, WorldGBC is calling for new national and sectoral roadmaps to be developed, such as those produced in Finland, Norway and Sweden, with strong support from industry and policymakers. Demonstrating the feasibility of achieving zero carbon goals, the report is supported by case studies of existing best practice across the whole breadth of the building industry. Businesses involved in design and delivery have already committed to ambitious individual or national decarbonisation strategies. For example, Skanska, a major development and construction group is making strides in enabling projects to be evaluated for full lifecycle impacts. Materials suppliers are also taking a leading role. HeidelbergCement has committed to developing carbon neutral products by 2050, and Dalmia Bharat Cement, one of India’s leading cement manufacturers, is committed to becoming a carbon negative group by 2040. Cities have also been instrumental in pushing for new innovations and approaches. Oslo, Norway, has a commitment to fossil free construction sites. Vancouver, Canada, has mandated that embodied carbon be reduced in new buildings by 40% by 2030, as part of its climate emergency response, demonstrating the type of regulatory frameworks that can drive market change. Quotes: Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council says: “Our new report is a solution focused response to the urgent need to significantly reduce upfront emissions in buildings and construction and demand action across carbon intensive industries and materials. With the support of our global network and the endorsements we have received for the report, we are confident that we can stimulate market demand and facilitate radical whole value chain collaboration that will be truly transformative and benefit both people and planet. “We will accelerate action to achieve our goal of slashing embodied carbon by 40% by 2030 and securing net zero embodied carbon by 2050, in addition to our net zero operational carbon goals.” Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 says: “The majority of the world’s population live in cities, projected to rise to 70% by 2050. As cities continue to grow, and temperatures continue to rise dangerously, it has never been more important for the buildings and construction sector to be leading the way on climate action. Because the sector is responsible for such a large chunk of global emissions, it means there is huge potential for reduction. It is excellent news that the pathways laid out by the World Green Building Council contain an interim target for 2030 – as we know how important this date is for getting the world on track to limit global temperatures to 1.5C. Now the sector needs to mobilise immediately to put these changes into action for global benefit. Collaboration between sectors and organisations will be key to achieving this transformation – and at C40 we are looking forward to supporting cities to make it a reality.” Anders Danielsson, President & CEO, Skanska says: “This report sets out bold ambitions for embodied carbon reduction in the built environment which we welcome at Skanska. We recognise our responsibility and see an increased sense of urgency in our work to reduce carbon, which started many years ago. As we move forward, greater transparency on carbon emissions is needed throughout the whole value chain. Tools like the EC3 which we have developed with partners can help with this. But this is not
