Name: Alan Maile
Employer: Killby & Gayford
Project: Henry Dawes Centre, St John's School, Leatherhead
Few schemes can take £375k out of a £5.5m projected cost without losing any of the build or functionality and still ooze architectural quality. Yet Alan Maile, a construction manager who brings a quest for perfection to his every project, did precisely that.
With the scheme unable to proceed without the budget savings, Alan went for material substitutions rather than downsizing the design. Treating his subcontractors as his allies, he introduced alternative lighting, simplified joinery details and changed the concrete specification.
He maintained the design vision through exhaustive sample provision, extensive workspace benchmarking, rigorous quality checks and regular reviews with the design team and supply chain. So striking is the result that it has been put forward for a RIBA design award.
And throughout it all, Alan showed flexibility of approach and programming expertise. For example, when poor weather led to serious delays, he reassessed the building methodology, bringing forward the delivery of key cladding materials so the tower crane could be dismantled early and the landscaping works moved forward.
Value: £5.1m