Name: Justin Willison ICIOB
Employer: Kier London
Project: 265 - 267 Tottenham Court Rd, London
Contract: JCT 1998
Remarkable control and composure gave Justin Willison the upper hand in this risk-heavy project.
Surrounded on three sides by third parties – a grade II listed theatre and a foreign embassy at that – the project was uncomfortably tight. Arriving as the demolition phase began, Justin proved his worth immediately.
It had become clear that the demolition was unavoidably transferring noise and vibration to the theatre, any disruption to whose business would trigger hefty penalties. Justin immediately began meeting the neighbours daily to communicate the state of play, ensuring that they could see every effort was being made to minimise disruption. He rescheduled the most intrusive demolition works around the theatre’s crucial times even when that was not the best time for him. His relationship building here was key in preventing ultimate project failure.
To limit any substructure delay to the programme, he then pushed forward with the works on the basement elements while the post-demolition foundation survey and design detailing were undertaken. And when the foundation unknowns resulted in unavoidable programme slippage, he drove through the client’s request for a phased handover of the retail, followed by the commercial space and residential units.
Justin also added value for the client by proposing alternative build techniques that cut costs and helped the programme. He introduced prefabricated gutters, steel frame for the residential element to reduce the level of onsite resource needed, and a waterproof membrane instead of asphalt to eliminate the need for screed to falls. He also developed a way to tie the masonry facade into the structure for faster envelope completion.
Value: £16.2m