Name: Paul Gregory
Employer: Sir Robert McAlpine
Project: Kings Place, London N1
Contract: JCT 98
To say this project was completed under budget and on time – two factors of the utmost importance to every construction manager – simply doesn’t do justice to Paul Gregory’s achievement. He also handed over a landmark building that incorporated a highly demanding mix of functional types and construction challenges, to a quality that even the architect admits exceeded his own ambitious expectations.
Paul made it clear from the start that he wanted an open and trusting relationship with the design team and client, and extended the same respect to the subcontractors. The client was made part of the construction process in a way that few others might have wanted but which contributed to a far better understanding.
This collaborative culture, driven by a group of extremely loyal colleagues who were very keen on following Paul onto this job, resulted in one of those projects that everyone regards as one of the most enjoyable they have ever worked on.
Paul embodied and inspired what can only be described as a passion for quality. Unprepared to compromise on the design vision, he made quality samples, site visits and supplier presentations to the architect and client an integral part of the tender process, and left subcontractors in no doubt of his expectations.
He demonstrated superb technical understanding and judgement, taking the crucial decision to proceed with one of the deepest single-propped basements in the UK, bounded by canals on two sides. He even turned this to his advantage by using the canals to deliver materials and remove rubbish by barge. His successful control of the risks inherent in the innovative basement solution saved a substantial amount of time and money.
Paul also mastered a complex facade, which included a continuously curved triple-glazed glass wall with no visible external fixings. And he resolved the significant construction difficulties posed by the acoustic demands of the auditorium, building a discrete steel frame structure in the basement on independent columns topped with rubber bearings.
Faithful to cost, programme and the vision, and with the superior diplomacy needed to keep onside incoming tenants anxious to get on with fit-out, Paul was a client’s (and his employer’s) dream.