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Category: Projects £7-10m Name: Ali Toossi Company: Verry Construction Project: Kaleidoscope Centre, Lewisham Contract: PC Works |
What sets Ali Toossi apart are his confidence, his clarity of instruction and his command of both the brief and the project team. All were essentials on this innovative building, which was designed to set a new standard that all healthcare facilities should aspire to.
With sustainability and environmental issues at the heart of the design and construction, along with heavy community involvement at every level, Ali and his team had plenty of issues to overcome and learn from. Possibly the biggest was the first installation in a UK building of a Batiso heating and cooling system, which deploys a thermoactive slab and active mass cooling or concrete core conditioning.
By downsizing the cooling plant and mechanical reticulation, Batiso reduces carbon emissions by a claimed 30%, and helped showcase this building as high-performance green build. Committed to the success of the project, Ali led by example, using his skills, experience and adaptability to lavish on the detail of this complex design concept the enormous attention it needed to translate it into a reality.
Ali ensured the project team was kept up to date with any programme changes on a regular basis. He kept all involved fully informed of progress on the project's complicated design process and site activities. Ali used comprehensive monthly reports and weekly update meetings to help set the programme's deadlines and keep everyone aware of what had to be achieved.
He championed open and constant communications, involving all parties at every stage in the project. The success of his leadership was reflected in the ability of designers, suppliers and management team to voice issues and review progress as they moved forward.
Braced by Ali's own confidence, the project team members rapidly gained belief in their own work and trust in their colleagues. The resulting excellent communications helped issues to be talked through and quickly resolved, and allowed Ali to turn a cutting-edge design into a superb reality.
