Image credit: Adam Davies
- Gold winner: Matt Gavin MCIOB
- Kier Construction
- Project: MRI Building, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff
- Scope: Construction of six-storey MRI building, completed in 96 weeks
- Client: Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
- Contract: NEC option C
- Value: £12m
For this six-storey replacement MRI facility at the biggest hospital in Wales, Matt Gavin had to deliver the new-build project in an enclosed courtyard, surrounded on all sides by live medical facilities.
His logistical planning included erecting a tower crane inside the courtyard, the only practicable way to move materials into and out of the site. In an emergency corridor over which the crane lifts would take place, he installed a CCTV camera linked to the crane cab so the operator could check if the corridor was clear before each lift.
Image credit: Adam Davies
For the removal of an existing ground-floor slab, Gavin arranged the saw-cutting operation for between 8am and 9am to prevent disruption to patients, with sections crushed by a remote-operated demolition robot to limit the noise and vibration.
When equipment specification changed and pushed the electrical load much higher, he had to introduce a cast resin busbar. By vigorously resequencing, he allowed snagging and commissioning to continue while the busbar was sourced and installed, reducing a potential 16-week delay to just four.
- Silver winner: Lewis Blake MCIOB
- Willmott Dixon Interiors
- Project: Nursing and Midwifery Council Headquarters, London E20
- Scope: Fit-out of office headquarters, completed in 16 weeks
- Client: Nursing and Midwifery Council
- Contract: JCT 2016 with procurement hub amendments
- Value: £1.9m
This 17th-floor fit-out of 22,000 sq ft of office space required Lewis Blake to execute a fast-paced programme in a fully occupied building that was busy seven days a week.
Just-in-time deliveries were key on a site where the loading bay was shared with other building occupants and another fit-out contractor.
With no room for lost time, Blake switched to risk-reducing alternatives for a bespoke staging area and feature ceiling canopy in the amphitheatre. Cost-effective flooring, tiling and joinery options freed up budget. The project was handed over on schedule.
Other finalists:
Tom Millard MCIOB
Willmott Dixon, Cardiff Royal Infirmary Block 14
Robert Palmer MCIOB
Kier Regional Building London and South East, Southwood Courtyard Building, Great Ormond Street Hospital
