Finalist |
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Category: Residential 4 storeys and over |
Having spent a lifetime in construction, Harry Dainton has an obvious passion and hunger for the work. But while his commitment is a constant, the methods and materials used by the industry move on, and it is Harry's ability to keep up at the leading edge while still applying the classic construction manager skills with such expertise which proves his quality.
Right from the start, this town centre brownfield site was fraught with difficulty. Demolition of three 1960s-built concrete tower blocks, which had proved unstable, left behind an active railway tunnel across the site along with a large number of high-voltage cables snaking just about everywhere.
Harry put his trust in careful planning, experience and a well-controlled labour force to see the job through. He went through his plans and proposals with the groundworks and piling subcontractors and then got to work, having nurtured a team ethos to help solve the problems that constantly arose.
Work methods had to be repeatedly adapted so the team could work safely and productively. And once the foundations were complete, Harry took great pains to lay the slabs perfectly to ensure a perfect base for the timberframe kit.
He then turned to the delivery of the panoply of innovative sustainable materials used in the project. They included a Trocal membrane roof with a 50-year guarantee, aluminium soffits and fascias, and non-rusting structural fittings. The UPVC double-glazed windows were fixed within a plastic insulated former to aid the settlement and safe movement of the timberframe blocks.
Harry's personal contributions included redesigning parts of the roof, balcony details and lift shaft detailing to improve buildability and practicality.
Just as important as his technical input has been his marshalling of the workforce to work towards a high standard of quality. Harry held fortnightly trade meetings onsite to discuss programme, quality, safety and costs, and carried out daily inspection routines to maintain standards. His introduction of sign-off sheets to create a record of who was responsible for what significantly improved the quality of work.
The result is a prestigious development completed with a minimal number of snags.
