Name: Mike Fallon
Employer: Kier North West
Project: Floral Pavilion Theatre, New Brighton
Contract: JCT 2005
Always professional and positive, Mike Fallon delivered a complicated building in an exposed coastal environment. He was the lynchpin of the tripartite relationship of contractor, developer and user organisation, stimulating a spirit of collaboration and co-operation between all parties.
With the scheme financed from a variety of sources, including EU funds, Mike’s energetic driving of the team to meet deadlines and achieve project milestones was crucial in meeting the sponsors’ conditions for releasing the money.
And it wasn’t the theatre alone that was affected: the project was merely the first stage of a further £35m regeneration of the area. Even though local opinion was initially hostile to the developer’s proposals, Mike’s success turned the public mood around.
He was highly proactive with both immediate neighbours and the wider community. He organised letter drops to 100 homes and businesses, and introduced himself personally to the community. Almost every Friday afternoon he was to be found escorting local groups − schools, pensioners, local media, the camera society − around the site
Mike was quick to understand the design vision and brought to the table the buildability advice and construction know-how that delivered it. By project completion, he had overcome the architect’s initial reservations about the wisdom of a design and build contract.
He personally selected the subcontractors and materials for the project. In many instances, he inspected work on previous jobs to check the quality of the finish. He then used models, mock-ups and sample rooms to set the quality standard and to help the team understand how the building would fit together. His own positive approach and enthusiasm for problem solving drove a high standard of quality.
Value: £10.3m