Mace’s Lee Hutchinson MCIOB has taken the title of Construction Manager of the Year for an exemplary achievement in delivering a school science block where the client wanted a building that lasted for 500 years – but he had just an 18-month window.
The build programme at St Paul’s School in Barnes, southwest London, was also challenged by the discovery of 500mm concrete reservoir filter bed underneath the site, two key subcontractors going into liquidation, and an operational school just metres away from the workface.
But Hutchinson, 40, working on his first project at Mace after an eighteen year career at John Sisk & Son, brought ideas and ingenuity to help deliver a project that has won a sweep of design awards for its clean lines and touch-perfect concrete.
The project started with the demolition of existing CLASP buildings on the site, and then involved creating new science block with 18 laboratories, classrooms and a reception, arranged around a cloistered quadrangle.
Speaking to CM after the awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House hotel last night, Hutchinson said: “Making sure the concrete in situ was as good as the pre-cast was a major challenge. The client wanted a building that would last for 500 years, for perpetuity – they were trying the match the feel of Oxford or Cambridge. That’s not too bad for a lad from a northern comprehensive!”
The overall CMYA winner is chosen from the gold medalists in eleven categories – Hutchinson was declared winner new build and refurbishment category £17-20m.
"The client wanted a building that would last for 500 years, for perpetuity – they were trying the match the feel of Oxford or Cambridge. That’s not too bad for a lad from a northern comprehensive!"
His fellow gold medallists included Mace colleague Tony Hughes MCIOB, who built a compelx mixed-use London scheme in the £28-40m category; Laing O’Rourke’s Chris Rafferty MCIOB for the £177m Trinity Leeds shopping centre; and Ross Taylor MCIOB of Willmott Dixon, who delivered a luxury apartment block in Camden.
On stage to win his CMYA award, Hutchinson was asked for his reaction by awards host Julia Bradbury. “It goes without saying, it was a great project and I loved every minute of doing it, and it’s a great honour to win in front of so many of my peers and all the people who have delivered such amazing projects.”
It was a successful night for Mace, where Charlie Bevan also won a silver medal in the Residential category for Chenil House in Chelsea, a new build behind a retained facade that had to be shifted 3m from its original position.
But Willmott Dixon joined Mace in chalking up two gold medals, with James Elliment MCIOB winning in the £7-17m category, for a conference centre for the University of Leicester.
There were also gold medals for McLaren’s Domonic Egan in the £20-28m category; Andy Lee of Lend Lease for an office and residential building in central London; Craig Bulloch MCIOB of ISG Construction in the below £2m category for a lecture theatre at Ninewells Hospital.
David Challenger of R&M Williams delivered the Penarth Pier Pavilion refurbishment, winning in the £2-4m category, and Kier’s Andrew Ash MCIOB took gold for a college training centre in Paignton Devon, in the £4-5m category.
And Skanska’s Iain Bushell MCIOB won gold in the £5-7m category for May Park Primary school in Bristol.
Also celebrating success last night was SME Shaylor Group, where Paul Fairholm won the company its first CMYA medal: a silver for a project at the Belfry resort Green Zone in Sutton Coldfield. The scheme that originally went on site had a budget of £800 000 and a 24 week programme. The client’s rapidly expanding ambitions brought the final project value to £4.8m – but Fairholm still managed to deliver the project in 24 weeks.
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