Name: Andy Lee ACIOB
Employer: Quarmby Construction Company Limited
Project: School of Management, University of Bradford
Contract: JCT 2005
Andy Lee gave his client the refreshing experience of a design and build contract that added value rather than lost it.
The heart of this scheme was sustainability, as is clear from the biomass boiler, refrigerant-free building, solar panel-heated water, grey water harvesting, ventilation through hollow-core planks, and a tough air leakage target of 2.5 cubic metres per hour. Andy’s formidable attention to detail not only attained the BREEAM points required for the scheme-specified ‘very good’ rating, but added others to earn an ‘excellent’.
He also researched the feasibility of constructing insulated composite wall panels using in situ concrete. He then built them, using polypropylene ties to reduce cold bridging. It resulted in a lower U-value envelope than would have been the case with offsite methods.
Andy managed the very difficult job of linking the new-build block to a grade II-listed building with a split-level atrium. He incorporated 100 change orders within the original programme time scales, implementing them in the correct sequence even while developing the conceptual design.
But his project mastery lay in far more than just construction technique and methods. Andy knows that high-quality buildings can’t be produced on time and within budget without a like-minded project team.
His communication was outstanding, successfully managing the many parties involved. He communicated effectively not only with the inevitable mix of subcontractors and the professional team, but also students and academics in the live university, and domestic neighbours. Just one complaint was received during the entire project and even that issue was satisfactorily resolved in 24 hours.
Value: £7.9m