The refurbishment of Manchester Town Hall has been handed over to Lendlease, who will oversee the project as management contractor. Under the contract, the firm has pledged to create 150 apprenticeships and 45 new jobs for local people. “Manchester Town Hall is one of the city’s most recognisable and well-loved
Refurbishment work to enhance the look of Rossmere Park in Hartlepool has started. The £500,000 project, which will be in two phases and take a year to complete, has been developed by Hartlepool Borough Council following public consultation on its masterplan for the park in 2015. Phase one includes the relocation
The £2.3 million extension and refurbishment project to a Warwickshire-based care home owned and run by The Royal British Legion will be delivered by construction and refurbishment specialist, J Tomlinson. Galanos House is one of six care homes owned by the Legion, exclusively providing short and long-term care to serving
Award-winning UK construction, refurbishment and fit out contractor, Gilbert-Ash, completed the redevelopment of Arnold House in the fast-growing ‘Tech-City’ area of London. The former warehouse now contains a 75,000 sq.ft. stand-out office and retail space. The £15 million project included a three-story extension reflecting the design of the existing building.
Morgan Sindall has completed the £1.8 million redevelopment work for the City of Birmingham School Kings Centre pupil referral unit. The work included the renovation of the internal areas, fitting out the food technology and design technology rooms and reconfiguration of the existing floor layout to form a gym area.
Leading UK construction, refurbishment and fit-out company, Gilbert-Ash, has strengthened its senior team with six internal promotions. The company has promoted four Project Directors and two Senior Surveyors, building on the wealth of expertise already across the team. Gilbert-Ash recently announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December
One of the UK’s most successful regional theatre companies lifted the curtains on a brand-new era in its 90-year history tonight (Sep 26) following a £7.5m refurbishment project. Mayflower Theatre took a ‘dramatic pause’ as it turned off the lights for the multi-million pound project back in June. Tonight it
Architecture and construction consultancy YMD Boon has announced that it has completed improvement works on more than 200 school projects in the Midlands area through the Government’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). CIF, an annual bidding round to which academies and sixth-form colleges can apply for funding to keep school buildings in
One of Canary Wharf’s spectacular high-rises, 20 Canada Square was subject to a crucial ceiling refurbishment by specialists SAS International. With 12 floors of commercial office space offering panoramic views of London’s financial district, the building’s contemporary finish optimises plenty of natural daylight from every angle. SAS has been a
The construction industry faces many challenges. One of these is around delivering projects on time and on budget. Refurbishment projects is one area where accurately predicting cost and time is notoriously difficult as all too often unforeseen factors come into play when a project starts, typically as a result of
The refurbishment of Manchester Town Hall has been handed over to Lendlease, who will oversee the project as management contractor. Under the contract, the firm has pledged to create 150 apprenticeships and 45 new jobs for local people. “Manchester Town Hall is one of the city’s most recognisable and well-loved landmarks. Lendlease has a long track record of working with heritage buildings and enhancing them for contemporary use and we will bring all of this experience to bear at Manchester Town Hall,” commented Neil Martin, Managing Director, Construction at Lendlease, Europe. As part of the work done to refurbish the Town Hall, parts of the Grade I-listed building will be restored. The project aims to safeguard the building for current and future generations and improve public access, as well as enhance Albert Square. “This appointment is an important milestone in the Our Town Hall project to improve access to this icon of Manchester and safeguard it for current and future generations,” said Councillor Nigel Murphy, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council. “There aren’t many construction firms with the expertise and resources required to deliver a heritage project of this scale and complexity on behalf of the city and after a rigorous selection process we are confident that Lendlease offered the best overall value. There will also be millions of pounds worth of opportunities for local businesses and people to get involved in the project through this contract, including apprenticeships and other training opportunities,” the Councillor added.
Refurbishment work to enhance the look of Rossmere Park in Hartlepool has started. The £500,000 project, which will be in two phases and take a year to complete, has been developed by Hartlepool Borough Council following public consultation on its masterplan for the park in 2015. Phase one includes the relocation of the toddler play area near to the cafe, complete with a range of new equipment, and the creation of a separate all-new junior play area featuring facilities including a Sutu interactive ball wall. On the site of the old toddler play area off Braemar Road an on-site car park will be built. Moreover, a new covered area for events will be created in the centre and there will also be general enhancement work around the park. “These exciting improvements will create new and better facilities for children and adults alike. I look forward very much to seeing the park welcome many more visitors when the work has been completed,” said Councillor Ann Marshall, Vice-Chair of the Council’s Neighbourhood Services Committee. Phase two will focus on the pond and will include planting around the pond’s concrete edging to improve its visual appearance and the introduction of several miniature floating islands which will act as natural filtration systems to improve the oxygen levels for the fish. “I’m delighted that, thanks to this external funding, Rossmere Park is getting a new lease of life,” added Councillor Jim Lindridge, Vice-Chair of the Council’s Regeneration Services Committee. The two phases project has been funded by Mondegreen Environmental Body – a regional grant-giving organisation which distributes money from the Landfill Tax to community initiatives.
The £2.3 million extension and refurbishment project to a Warwickshire-based care home owned and run by The Royal British Legion will be delivered by construction and refurbishment specialist, J Tomlinson. Galanos House is one of six care homes owned by the Legion, exclusively providing short and long-term care to serving and ex-service individuals and their dependants. The construction work consists of two extensions, which will provide ten additional dementia care bedrooms to the home’s award-winning Poppy Lodge and a new Community Hub which will include a new day care facility, café and treatment rooms. In addition, J Tomlinson will also be providing associated landscaped gardens and extended car parking to support increased occupancy within Galanos House upon completion of the extension. “We are delighted to work with The Royal British Legion on this project, which will provide additional space for individuals requiring extra care,” said Pete Woods, director (commercial refurbishment) at J Tomlinson. “As a business, we are active supporters of the armed forces community, having recently been recognised as a Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award winner after signing the armed forces covenant during early 2017. We look forward to working with the Legion as the project gets underway,” Pete continued. The care home project will begin in late November and is due to complete autumn 2019. Founded by veterans after the first world war, The Royal British Legion is dedicated to supporting the Armed Forces community through a variety of means including rehabilitation courses, careers advice and specialist accommodation. “We are very excited about this new development, which will provide much-needed high quality facilities for our beneficiaries and a new hub that will serve residents, their families and friends, and also the wider community. We look forward to J Tomlinson joining the project team to finally bring this development to fruition,” added Paul Gillam, head of property development at The Royal British Legion. Nottingham-based J Tomlinson specialises in delivering a range of integrated building solutions to a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, extra care, bluelight, education, social housing, student accommodation and commercial/industrial. As a Dementia-Friendly organisation, the company has been instrumental in the delivery of unobtrusive building projects to specialist care environments, working with clients including MHA, HC One and Housing & Care 21.
Award-winning UK construction, refurbishment and fit out contractor, Gilbert-Ash, completed the redevelopment of Arnold House in the fast-growing ‘Tech-City’ area of London. The former warehouse now contains a 75,000 sq.ft. stand-out office and retail space. The £15 million project included a three-story extension reflecting the design of the existing building. It combined its current industrial impression with a high standard modern workplace environment to cater for the thriving technology and media businesses in South Shoreditch. Working closely with Buckley Gray Yeoman architects, the team at Gilbert-Ash transformed the seven-storey building to reveal collaborative open-plan spaces with exposed concrete columns and efficient floor plates. High-ceilings and significant natural light adds to the development to create a contemporary environment. The ground floor, encompassing retail outlets and a spacious reception area, includes a curtain wall glazing exterior and black steel cladding panels for the signage zone. The façade also incorporates brick cladding and brick slip panels over new external walls. An inverted roof with decking has created terrace spaces, with tenants able to enjoy views of the Shoreditch streetscape. “The final internal and external Arnold House refurbishment works well in the surrounding modern Tech-City environment. The contemporary space has been carefully constructed to keep the industrial style of the building but with additional features you would expect in a productive, collaborative space. From the ground floor to the roof terrace and landscaped courtyard, we aimed to create a space that would meet the needs of today’s modern, flexible workforce. The building includes office space with retail units on the ground floor in a fantastic location, right in the heart of Tech City,” said Gerard Mullan, Gilbert-Ash Project Manager. Located on the corner of Great Eastern Street and Holywell Lane, the new development is a BREAMM Very Good building with a WiredScore Gold certification. The building was completed and handed over on the 10th of August.
Morgan Sindall has completed the £1.8 million redevelopment work for the City of Birmingham School Kings Centre pupil referral unit. The work included the renovation of the internal areas, fitting out the food technology and design technology rooms and reconfiguration of the existing floor layout to form a gym area. The tiled roof was also renovated and extensive masonry works repairs were carried out on the existing facade. Delivered on behalf of Birmingham City Council, the project was part of the Constructing West Midlands (CWM) framework and was managed in collaboration with the council’s design and contract delivery partner Acivico. “We’re committed to ensuring that all of our construction projects deliver wide-reaching social value to the communities in which we work, and have routed more than half a billion pounds through local suppliers during our time on the CWM framework,” said Richard Fielding, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure. “Throughout this refurbishment, the site team has organised several local initiatives, including the donation of a blood pressure monitor to Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, and a charity football day at St Andrew’s Stadium which the pupils loved. Everyone involved with the project can be rightly proud of the legacy they’ve left; both in terms of the finished building, and the meaningful community engagement throughout,” Richard added. The renovated school unit was officially opened by rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio. “Today marks two important milestones for our school: the launch of the partnership with Rugby Works, and the official opening of the newly-refurbished ‘wing’ of one of our Centres. This is a strategic step towards providing pupils with outstanding facilities and the widest curriculum offer available. Thanks to Birmingham City Council and Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure for their work on the project,” concluded Steve Howell, headteacher at City of Birmingham School.
Leading UK construction, refurbishment and fit-out company, Gilbert-Ash, has strengthened its senior team with six internal promotions. The company has promoted four Project Directors and two Senior Surveyors, building on the wealth of expertise already across the team. Gilbert-Ash recently announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2017. The results confirm a 50% increase in pre-tax profits to reach over £2, up from £1.4m in 2016. With results driven by the dedicated 180-strong team, the contractor reported an overall turnover of £165.5m, an increase from £148m in the previous year. It aims to build on this success with the recent Project Director and Senior Surveyor promotions, tapping into the strong potential that has been developed within the company. Whilst carrying out multiple complex projects across the UK and beyond, Gilbert-Ash has been striving to improve its workforce culture and inspiring working environment, through continual investment in its people and innovation. Sean Doran, John Davis, Ciaran Begley and Rodney Coalter have each been appointed as Project Directors, with Paul Carroll and Lyndon Park both promoted to Senior Surveyors. This allows their knowledge to be utilised at a strategic level and for each of them to help guide the company as it moves into a successful future. Ray Hutchinson, Managing Director, Gilbert-Ash commented: “This is an exciting time for Gilbert-Ash as we match our industry success with several in-house promotions to new senior positions. This demonstrates the talent, skills and expertise that Gilbert-Ash possesses, not only at the top level but running throughout the entire team from the ground up.” Current projects include John Davis leading the team at the new £17m Royal College of Pathologists headquarters in London, whilst Ciaran Begley is sharing his expertise at the redevelopment of the Royal College of Music in South Kensington. Additionally, Lyndon Park is readying the £19.5m Cambridge Mosque for completion in December this year. Rodney Coalter is currently working with the team to finalise the refurbishment of Bristol Old Vic, rediscovering its theatrical heritage. The company also continues to work with hotel group Whitbread on numerous concurrent projects, led by Sean Doran and Paul Carroll. As Whitbread Supplier of the Year 2017, Gilbert-Ash’s work takes place across the UK and includes its next generation, technology-enabled Premier Inn hub hotels. Each of the Project Directors and Senior Surveyors joined Gilbert-Ash in the early stages of their career, with Sean Doran and Lyndon Park both joining during their placement year. This demonstrates Gilbert-Ash’s cohesive work culture that has led to an employee retention rate of 87%. Ray Hutchinson added: “Our team of Project Directors and Senior Surveyors will help shape the future of construction at Gilbert-Ash through their determined work ethic and skilled attention to detail. I congratulate each of them on their success and look forward to seeing what the future holds under their steer. The company’s strong growth is driven by our continued focus and investment in both our chosen markets and our people.” Gilbert-Ash recently received the renowned accolade of Contractor of the Year at the Construction News Awards 2018. It has also been shortlisted for Contractor of the Year (up to £300m) at the Building Awards 2018. Over the past 12 months, it has performed strongly on a national level with several high-profile projects, including the £21.5m AC by Marriott Hotel in Belfast City Quays and the £19.5m Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts project in London.
One of the UK’s most successful regional theatre companies lifted the curtains on a brand-new era in its 90-year history tonight (Sep 26) following a £7.5m refurbishment project. Mayflower Theatre took a ‘dramatic pause’ as it turned off the lights for the multi-million pound project back in June. Tonight it reopened its doors to the public for the first time to reveal the results of its biggest transformation of the last 30 years. The iconic Southampton venue has been completely repainted with a dramatic new red and gold colour scheme. All of the seats in the stall and circle have been removed and replaced with 1,659 brand-new, wider seats while the seats in the balcony have been reupholstered. The theatre has gained an extra seat, taking its total seat capacity to 2,274. New environmentally-friendly LED lighting has been installed, the orchestra pit has been moved beneath the stage and accessibility has been improved, with better facilities for people with disabilities. The multi-million pound project will ensure the theatre remains best in class and continues to draw in hundreds of thousands of people to the city. Every year more than 500,000 people visit Mayflower Theatre and the venue contributes an estimated £75m to the economy. Michael Ockwell, chief executive of Mayflower Theatre, said: “This is without doubt the most significant refurbishment project that the theatre has seen in the last three decades and we were thrilled to lift the curtains on the new look tonight. For us, this project is very much about ensuring Mayflower Theatre remains best in class not just for now, but long into the future.” The £7.5m investment has been welcomed by representatives from the public as well as the private sector. Southampton Cultural Development Trust Chairman Brad Roynon said: “Mayflower Theatre doesn’t just bring in huge shows and hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city every year. It also plays an important part in connecting new audiences with theatre and inspiring young people to get involved in the arts. It’s therefore absolutely vital that we preserve this historic and culturally important venue to ensure it remains, and develops further, as a catalyst for the growth of arts and culture.” Cabinet Member for Homes and Culture at Southampton City Council, Councillor Satvir Kaur said: “It’s fantastic to see the Mayflower theatre opening its doors again. This iconic building is an integral part of the extensive entertainment offering that can be found in Southampton. The theatre is one of the biggest outside of London and attracts people from a huge area. This essential refurbishment ensures that the venue itself lives up to the reputation that it has.” Mayflower Theatre is the biggest regional theatre outside of London and has seen the likes of Julie Andrews, Laurel and Hardy, Michael McIntyre, Take That and even The Beatles tread its boards over its 90-year history. The venue opened on December 22, 1928 as the Empire Theatre, becoming The Gaumont in 1950 and eventually Mayflower Theatre in 1987. It remains the largest theatre in the south of England and employs 230 staff. Its reopening was celebrated with a gala evening of music and entertainment, commemorating the theatre’s past and celebrating the future with some of the next generation of stage performers. The first official performance will be Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, which runs from September 28 and 29. Tickets can be booked online at www.mayflower.org.uk or by visiting the box office.
Architecture and construction consultancy YMD Boon has announced that it has completed improvement works on more than 200 school projects in the Midlands area through the Government’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). CIF, an annual bidding round to which academies and sixth-form colleges can apply for funding to keep school buildings in safe and good working order, funds projects that address issues such as water tightness, boiler failure, fire safety, safeguarding and mobile classroom replacement. In the latest bidding round (2018/19), more than 50% of all successful bids in both Derbyshire and Leicestershire were awarded to schools that had engaged YMD Boon to prepare and deliver their bids. The company has undertaken works on CIF projects ranging from window replacements and reroofing to extensions and major refurbishments over the course of the last five years. Notable projects this year include three new school halls, six new production kitchens, a half form entry expansion of an “outstanding school” and numerous boiler replacements, reroofing, window replacements, fire safety improvements works and safeguarding projects. Director at YMD Boon, Jonathan Warren, said: “Our continued success over the last few years through CIF bids demonstrates both YMD Boon’s knowledge and its commitment to the education sector. Delivering more than 200 projects through CIF is a fantastic milestone to celebrate and we are very proud of our team. “We have delivered both small scale projects ranging from £25k to large-scale refurbishment and expansion works in excess of a £1m. It’s great to see our work directly improve so many local schools and we very much look forward to delivering even more projects over the coming years through CIF.” YMD Boon, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, works on high-profile schemes throughout the Midlands, with specialist services including architecture, quantity surveying, building surveying, project management, employers’ agent, property management and maintenance, health and safety advisors and clerk of works.
One of Canary Wharf’s spectacular high-rises, 20 Canada Square was subject to a crucial ceiling refurbishment by specialists SAS International. With 12 floors of commercial office space offering panoramic views of London’s financial district, the building’s contemporary finish optimises plenty of natural daylight from every angle. SAS has been a major supplier to the Canary Wharf vicinity since 1995, so the client, Brookfield Properties, desired SAS’ most sought-after and latest product to feature in 20 Canada Square’s new ceiling installation, SAS330i. In order to maintain its sleek interior and exterior, refurbishments are integral to the building’s overall aesthetic. SAS worked with the client to develop a unique ceiling containing fully integrated LED lighting. SAS ensures that all ceiling designs are built for the long-term; therefore, the new SAS330i system was installed alongside other large areas of SAS330 ceilings. SAS330i offers integrated lit c-profiles to enhance light throughout the floor. Other characteristics of the ceiling design include the floating edge trim TCA0862, which lightens the room even though the ceiling is enclosed in large floating islands. Overall, the ceiling generates buoyancy and brightness to increase the room’s impact whilst remaining efficient and practical. As this was a renovation of a post-modern building, there were certain challenges to overcome. The building’s complex floor plate contained curved corners and two large atriums, meaning SAS had to supply a combination of double and single lighting modules to create floating ceilings of different sizes. Although this added to the process, it ensured that every profile in each SAS330i ceiling fitted perfectly and was lit without any inconvenience. Other additions to the ceiling included the following: each 3m length of light was furnished with two DALI dimmable drivers to enable daylight energy saving where required. PIR sensors were installed to ensure energy is saved when the space is unoccupied, and plain c-profiles created a central service zone in order for integrated sprinkler systems to be allotted in the future. The 20 Canada Square refurbishment signifies SAS’ ability to meet the project’s aesthetic and performance requirements as well as showcasing how the company goes above and beyond to ensure clients’ expectations are exceeded.
The construction industry faces many challenges. One of these is around delivering projects on time and on budget. Refurbishment projects is one area where accurately predicting cost and time is notoriously difficult as all too often unforeseen factors come into play when a project starts, typically as a result of stripping away part of the building and finding something unexpected. Thermal imaging is one area where technology is helping to overcome this and is now a key part of Sika roof refurbishment offering. Infrared thermography (IRT) and thermal imaging technology detect radiation in the long-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (roughly 9,000–14,000 nanometers or 9–14 µm). This produces an image called a thermogram. Since infrared radiation is emitted by all objects with a temperature above absolute zero, thermography makes it possible to see an environment with or without visible illumination. The amount of radiation emitted by an object increases with temperature. Therefore, thermography allows you to see variations in temperature. When viewed through a thermal imaging camera, warm objects stand out well against cooler backgrounds. Thermography has a long history, but its use has increased dramatically with the commercial and industrial applications of the past fifty years. Typical uses include firefighters who use thermography to see through smoke, to find people and to localise the base of a fire. Maintenance technicians use thermography to locate overheating joints and sections of power lines, which are a sign of impending failure. In the construction industry it has been traditionally used to identify heat leaks in faulty thermal insulation and to improve the efficiency of heating and air-conditioning units. Sika has been using thermal imaging technology since 2014. Investment in the technology was driven by the Sales Management Team as a way of adding value to clients. Sika has also invested in me as an individual to become a certified Level 1 thermographer, with training conducted by the world renowned Infrared Training Centre (ITC).
