Name: Stephen Pearce
Employer: Wallis Interiors
Project: Church House, Great Smith St, London SW1P
Contract: JCT 98
Listed buildings often excite a passion in construction managers that turns a refurb job into a labour of love. So it was for Stephen Pearce on this renovation of a 1930s-built six-storey building arranged around a grand circular hall with a distinctive skylight and crowned copper-domed roof.
Steve impressed the client and design team with his understanding of and empathy for the design brief. Perhaps even more important was his grasp of the practical issues inherent in the project, such as access, security, isolation of M&E services, and the existing structural constraints.
He combined an encouraging and enthusiastic approach with a no-fuss treatment of the documentation development required in the preconstruction period. Practicality and pragmatism were the order of the day for method statements and safety plans rather than over-the-top exercises in paperwork and bureaucracy.
Steve handled all aspects of construction management on this project, from full strip-out works and commercial refurbishment to mindful renovation of decorative fibrous ceilings and redecoration. His sensible programming of the sensitive works in the grand hall ensured minimal damage to the ornate features and showed a keen understanding of the design vision.
He also successfully closed out all the big risk items. For example, he kept in close touch with the chiller manufacturer to ensure the plant was available in time to align with the craneage options, which were limited by planned utility works.
But the biggest risk turned out to be the discovery of asbestos proliferation within the building and its consequences for the programme. It sent tremors through the project team and the remedial cost soared from £70,000 to £750,000. Steve’s input and ability to reorganise works around the exposure showed fine leadership and helped avoid catastrophe.
By analysing, stabilising and implementing change so effectively, Steve delivered this impressive project in time for its immovable completion date: the royal opening of the General Synod of the Church of England.