News

We’d like to congratulate two of our CE Midlands Awards winners (Kier and Speller Metcalfe) who went through to win at the CE National Awards last month.

Kier for winning the Building Project of the Year for their Heartlands Treatment Centre 

What the Judges said:

An extremely close category for our judges to make a decision so we will announce the highly commended before the winner. This was not just a challenging project for the team but one that brought such joy especially to the surrounding local community. The project achieved a 44% social value return, got over 30 unemployed persons back into work and placed aside £150K to set up a fund to share amongst seven different local community projects.

The challenges were overcome by closely working with all parties above and beyond ground including a very small iconic pub and student accommodation above and the rail network below. It is the first building in their region to achieve SmartScore certification and Wired Score Platinum along with an EPC A+ rating and BREEAM Excellent. The highly commended goes to Ask Real Estate Ltd, BAM Construction North East, Home Group, Ryder Architecture, AtkinsRealis, BGP Consulting Engineers, Shaw Construction Management, SES Engineering for One Strawberry Place Through the use of early collaboration with key stakeholders, innovation, intelligent solutions this winning project was delivered on time, on budget and without any defects.

One of the challenges was the project being a live hospital, with this being one of the first of a large scale capital investment not only for the client but delivering this for the wider community covering 1,500 patients per day. This project achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating with Carbon reduction measures running throughout, including rooftop PV panels, district heating and energy saving lighting.

Adhering to the Construction Playbook guidelines and implementing BIM Level 2 ensured a well-organized and streamlined construction process. Creation of a value management scheme saved the project over £1m through lowering façade costs through prefabricated SFS techniques. The 2023 Building Project of the Year Award goes to University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust – Kier Construction, Archus, Design Buro-Architects, WSP, Couch Consulting, WT Partnership and Acivico for Heartlands Treatment Centre

Speller Metcalfe for winning a special Social Value Award for their Skylon Campus project.

“We’re delighted that the hard work of the team at Skylon Campus has been recognised for the Social Value award. This project is a testament to the team’s commitment to delivering value both during the construction phase and in the completed building itself. We know how beneficial the Centre for Advanced Timber Technology will be for students joining from across the UK and the high-quality of learning opportunities that it provides. This award continues Speller Metcalfe’s reputation as an award-winning and innovative regional contractor.”

Adrian Speller, Technical Director, Speller Metcalfe.

What the Judges said:

The judges fought tirelessly in this category and literally couldn’t agreed but they have come up with a solution to award three projects as it was exceptionally close.

The first is a state of the art project which was originally two separate buildings with different finance streams. The client brought both together and redesigned the facility to become ‘one’. Through a number of social value initiatives they have undertaken a range of presentations, site visits, guest lectures as well as holding events on mental health, international women’s day and much more.

A special Social Value Award goes to Speller Metcalfe, NMITE (New Model in Technology and Engineering), Bond Bryan, Shires, Hybrid Structures, Hydrock and Osbornes for Syklon Campus

The highly commended goes to a project that has gone above and beyond expectations, especially for the client and end users of this facility. The project was delivered within 10 months from inception to completion, this has meant up to 16,000 operations taking place sooner and benefitting many thousands of people. Weekly sessions with all parties involved were delivered to ensure the team ethos ‘all for one and one for all’ was achieved to the clients aspirations. The building also provides a ‘fabric first’ approach with enhanced levels of insulation, triple glazed windows and space for future Low and Zero Carbon technologies. The 2023 Highly Commended Award goes to The Newcastle upon

Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, P+HS Architects, Robertson Construction. CAD21,Gen North, Portland Consulting, DPP Planning for Day Treatment Centre And lastly our winner. This project was delivered safely, on time, to budget, meeting the quality standards of the client, they have achieved a BREEAM Outstanding rating: a first for a facility of this kind. This was done through early engagement and continuous collaboration of all parties. The scheme has flourished due to an implementation of a cultural shift for the establishment, construction personnel and inmate operatives. They provided the prisoners life skills such as CV workshops, training, skills and more.

Developing protocols from their existing ISO45001 underpinned the scheme, ensured the safety and security of all involved to align with MoJ requirements. The project was delivered safely, with zero RIDDOR incidents. We are delighted to Award the 2023 Value Award to the Ministry of Justice, Galliford Try, HMP High Down, Carbon Plan, CTG Architects for HMP High Down Training Facility