Housing over four storeys

Gold

Name
Flan McNamara
Company
ISG InteriorExterior
Project
196 apartments in 11-storey block. Albion Riverside, London
Contract
£110m, Construction Management, 153 weeks

Building Albion Riverside was never going to be an easy task. This Foster-designed mixed-use signature building was not only curved on plan, but also had elevations and roofs curving in two planes.

To add to the headache of the design, the site was contaminated and beset with logistical problems – it lies next to the Thames in a very busy area, and car parking had to be constructed below the water level. Flan McNamara handled all of these severe challneges with exceptional management skills and good humour, along the way forming close relationships with the client, design team, cost consultant and contractors.

Workers flocked to the site from all over mainland Europe as well as the UK – at any one time there were up to 750 on site. With some site workers experiencing problems with English, McNamara organised English lessons at a Saturday afternoon school he set up on the site.

Although McNamara had gained a BSc in construction as a mature student, his initial training as an electrical and mechanical engineer stood him in good stead as he promoted innovation in the design of service pipes to minimise cost and improve site productivity.

His quest for innovation took him to factories all over Austria, Germany and Italy, and he overcame some protracted procurement delays with dedication and stubborn determination.

The project was also built with a great sense of fun. McNamara maintained morale with social events, site barbeques, football screenings and competitions. He even found the spare time to organise and encourage colleagues to refurbish a children’s refuge for the TV programme With A Little Help From My Friends.

But perhaps the ultimate seal of approval is that architect Foster was so impressed with the development that he bought an apartment of his own there. Is there no higher accolade?

Silver

Name
Barry Kingscote
Company
Morrison Construction
Project
13-storey block. Eastern Quay Apartments, London
Contract
£10.5m, JCT 98, 84 weeks

The final stage in Wimpey’s 1,000-unit Britannia Village development overlooking the Royal Victoria Docks near City Airport, Eastern Quay was beset by the sort of unforeseen problems that can shred the programme and blow the budget apart. That the project emerged unscathed and, indeed, stronger from its tribulations is a tribute to Barry Kingscote.

His first big test arrived early on when it became apparent that the ground conditions demanded a major redesign of the foundations — as well as the reinforced concrete frame itself. Kingscote took it on himself to drive the redesign, but also used the opportunity to value-engineer the main design.

Kingscote made substantial cost and programme savings by reducing the depths of the pile cups and raising their level, which cut down on excavation, removal of spoil and replacement with fill material. And by raising the external finished ground level, he removed the need to break up the existing reinforced concrete slabs.

Then came the sucker punch, as is so often the case on construction projects. Having gone to great length to ensure that programming and costs were in good order, Kingscote then stumbled across an old enclosed basement housing two turbine props and three live 9in-diameter cast-iron pipes linked to the docks. The site had to be flooded locally so divers could carry out underwater cutting and capping to seal off the pipes and stop the water flow. The cutting work also meant a number of major modifications to the foundation design, putting the programme three weeks behind. So when Kingscote’s team eventually hit contract completion day with two weeks to spare, it was all the more satisfying.

Congratulations should also go to the pilots who fly in and out of City Airport, as the top of Kingscote’s crane rose to within just one metre of the airport’s main flight path!

Commended

Marcus Blake St George South London, Thompson Eccles Carvill Group Tim Goldby Laing O’Rourke Midlands, Peter Green Wates Construction, John Kane Countryside Residential, Ray Penn Persimmon Homes Essex, Frank Sime Berkeley Homes