The big match

And he painted matchstick men and matchstick cats and dogs. But I bet he never imagined that they'd build a Guggenheim-like megastructure in his honour. Lowry, Salford's most famous artist, was more akin to the smoke and grime of the factories portrayed in his most famous compositions, than to the shining silver-scaled building now sitting on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford.

Controversial, groundbreaking and inspiring are all words used in the national press to describe The Lowry. Much the same can be said of the construction project and methods used to achieve its completion. Disciples of Latham and Egan will be impressed with the regularity and ease at which words such as partnering, guaranteed maximum price, joint venture and open book tender are dropped into conversation.

It's not just lip service either. Bovis, the principal contractor for the £70 million project, has awarded the mechanical, electrical and public health services contract, worth £13 million, to a joint venture between ABB Building Technologies and Haden Young.

The two companies joined forces to submit a tender for the guaranteed maximum price (gmp) contract. Bidding for the contract involved two stages, devised by Bovis. In the first stage ABB/Haden submitted a price for the works in much the same way as would happen in a traditional tender process. And, as in many a traditional tender, the best price was the one that won the contract.

Stage two, the open-book tender process, is where things began to get all Egan. The ABB/Haden joint venture worked closely with the consultant, Buro Happold, on the project design development for 12 months before starting work on site to prove that it could complete the contract satisfactorily. The joint venture then added on overheads and a fixed percentage profit to give a price. This figure had to be within the amount specified in the guaranteed maximum price laid down by the client.

All the while design details were discussed by the consultant and ABB/Haden. Any discrepancies or design queries were ironed out and changes made. Price differences also had to be absorbed into the gmp.

This initial collaboration, as well as getting the costs agreed to within the gmp, was designed to lessen the amount of changes once work had commenced on site.

David Bentley, project manager for ABB Building Technologies, explains: "The only variations to the contract come from the client, who details the requirements. These then go through a defined process with the construction team to agree a price. This is the only way that the gmp could vary. Other than that, if the contractor wanted to make a variation, the cost would have to be recovered by making a saving elsewhere. No alteration could be made to the gmp."

The creation of a good working relationship between the principal contractor, subcontractor and consultant from day one has been the springboard for a successfully managed and completed Lowry project. Instead of the adversarial air of many large projects, with claims and counter-claims flying, the team approach was intended to head off a problem before it even arrived. Design and development meetings have been held fortnightly from the conception of the project. Any foreseeable hiccups have been dealt with openly and verbally across the meeting table to everyone's best advantage.

Every contractor involved in The Lowry's construction has, as part of their brief, a requirement to coordinate with all other trades. At the height of the project this included daily morning meetings of all trade contractors, chaired by Bovis. Immediate problems were raised at these meetings, and solutions thrashed out in order to keep the works moving.

The ABB/Haden joint venture takes this coordination to its heights. Bentley says: "Project managers for Haden Young, Roger Sharples and Mikes Knowles, and I decided from day one that to make a success of the venture we would have to work extremely closely together. We set up a combined office operating, effectively, as one company.

"The joint venture has meant hard work but in the end it has worked extremely well. The relationship between ABB and Haden has been spot on."

On-site coordination produces happy workers and project managers. It also gives productivity improvements. By closely coordinating the mechanical and electrical services routing and installation times, ABB/Haden has been able to provide labour savings. And, the combined ordering and use of bracketry and fixings as well as temporary works such as scaffolding also reduces the project cost. Bentley says: "Where we can we've combined to get the best solution. Plant, accommodation, scaffolding, they all cost a lot of money. Diamond drilling and fire protection do too. If they are scheduled and combined between the two companies big savings in both time and money can be made."

The Lowry is big, very big. It also has a diverse number of elements. The combination of theatres, art galleries, interactive exhibits, cafes and restaurants has thrown up all kinds of design and installation difficulties. The strong positive relationships that have been struck up between contractors, consultants, the principal contractor and the client have enabled the project to run close to time and budget deadlines. ABB/Haden has made an extremely complex and testing project look easy, with a little help from its friends. And I do mean friends.

Some love Lowry's work, some hate it. But, as with any great artist, everyone knows it. The same can be said of the building. Its cutting-edge design may not suit more conservative tastes but it is already a major landmark and it will soon be a big attraction for visitors to Manchester. Hopefully, it will kick-start the regeneration of one of the city's most deprived areas, too.