Laing O’Rourke will manufacture a total of 4,000 items offsite for use in the redevelopment of the Whiteleys centre in London.
The redevelopment of the building, designed by Foster + Partners, will transform the former Bayswater shopping centre into 139 homes; 20 shops, cafes and restaurants; a 100-bedroom hotel; and a cinema and gym. The development will sit behind Whiteleys’ restored Grade-II-listed façade.
Laing O’Rourke’s engineering business Expanded began work on site in January 2020 as part of a £100m package of works to deliver the basement and frame that sits behind the four-storey façade.
Now O’Rourke has been confirmed for the main delivery of the redevelopment and restoration of the building.
The contractor will manufacture many items for the build such as core walls, columns and façade elements offsite at its Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction in Nottinghamshire. Almost 600 precast items have already been manufactured, out of a total of 4,000 required for the development, which is set to complete in 2023.
Paul McNerney, director of UK Building for Laing O’Rourke, said: “Our Expanded team has made incredible progress on the basement and frame structure, despite having to adapt to create a covid-secure workplace. I’d like to thank them for their commitment to keeping the project on track. By using modern methods of construction, they have been able to make excellent progress on the delivery of the sub-structure and frame.”
Contracts for the deal have been exchanged between joint venture partners MARK (formerly Meyer Bergman) and CC Land, and Laing O’Rourke. The project team is led by development manager Finchatton.
