Royal Grammar School - case study
Info box:
Client:
Royal Grammar School
Architect:
IID Architects
Completion date:
September 2019
Value:
£6.5m
Form of contract:
JCT Standard Building Contract
2011
Key Points:
Extensive CDP
Live operational school
Complex constrained site
The Brief
Neilcott was appointed to undertake phase three of the nine-phase Royal Grammar School (RGS) masterplan.
The new facilities in the heart of the historic school were co-ordinated within a live school environment and included conversion of old design & technology labs into state-of-the-art chemistry labs, followed by construction of a 725m2 fourthfloor extension over the existing three-storey ‘spine’ block between two central courtyards.
Building upwards within the existing building footprint due to the tight urban site, this extension provides improved dining facilities, a suite of 9 new modern languages classrooms and language laboratory, new offices, break-out learning space and a 160-person seminar/exam room.
The Scope
The complex, historic RGS campus has been expanded and modernised over the years and occupies a split site on both sides of busy Guildford High Street. A flagship for boys’ education, the school developed a nine-phase masterplan to provide learning environments conducive to study at the highest level – placing improved facilities at the core of the school’s educational strategy.
Neilcott successfully undertook the third (most recent) phase of development, including: a 725m2 spine extension to the main building at height; relocation of construction-affected teaching accommodation; infill of existing courtyard spaces; and relocation of the library into the “heart” of the school; for completion prior to the new academic year. The spine extension to the main building was hidden from the listed High St elevation by the existing hall roof. The glazed stairwell extensions have a flat roof height of 65.4m running the length of the new spine extension.
The Challenges
- Live operational school site – H&S interface
- Surrounded by occupied buildings – minimizing disruption to teaching and learning
- Phased works requiring seamless decant/recant of occupied areas as works progressed
- Complex logistics within constrained city-centre site – access, materials, crane
- Management of risk and change
- Interface with existing buildings
- Interface with future masterplan phases
The Solutions
Improving customer value through early engagement Our team worked collaboratively with the client design team from appointment, optimising evolving design concepts and construction methodology to achieve value and savings through early contractor and supply chain involvement e.g. developing an improved methodology to eliminate the need for a crash deck.
- Sensitive yet effective value management mitigated cost-creep identified during the pricing period including changing Dales cladding to a rendered façade, changing Schuco glazing to Comar and altering specification of single-ply roof to achieve savings of £126,806.
- Interface issues identified early, enabling robust pricing, mitigation and management e.g. services routing, new to old connections, live services and operational areas that needed to be addressed
- Robust joint risk management process, working collaboratively to identify, mitigate and where possible eliminate risks by undertaking additional surveys and investigations. Clear ownership, escalation protocols and agreed strategies were defined to manage residual risks.
- Adding information to de-risk and inform design during the preconstruction period, we undertook an asbestos survey; M&E surveys to identify routes of services and available capacities; ground conditions testing to confirm load-bearing capacities for piling and for siting the tower crane; services and drainage surveys below ground to inform positioning and mitigate H&S concerns.
- Creative operational solutions We also worked with the school to provide an alternative solution to the over sailing tower crane when they were being held to ransom by the developer of the adjoining site.
- ‘No-surprises’ approach making clear any implications of design changes/decisions by running design and cost development processes in parallel. Transparently sharing open-book pricing, we developed accurate cost plans at each stage of design development, keeping close control of package-based pricing, procurement and providing clear evidence for decision-making.
- Effective change management process dealt with significant ‘unknowns’ which arose due to the historic and complex nature of the works, mitigating against disruption to school and works.
Safely managing works in live school environment Due to the complexity and location of the works in the centre of the school campus, Neilcott worked very closely with the school and our supply chain during the preconstruction period to develop and agree programme, logistics, segregation strategies, along with safeguarding and H&S processes to ensure that the school’s expectations were met, and policies adhered to.
- Minimising disruption Collaborative planning and proactive management strategies optimised phasing and programming of works to maintain school operations unaffected. This included ceasing all construction during the 2-week public exam period to avoid disruption or distraction to pupils, additionally scheduling works (including steel frame/composite floor works) from 4pm-8pm on many evenings.
- Seamless phased decant and recant of working areas was a key element of the project, swiftly completing moves as refurbishment works progressed through different areas. Considerable planning time and effort were invested in the decant/recant programme by Neilcott, IID and RGS to ensure smooth delivery throughout construction phases, with a well-managed collaborative approach and clear communication essential to success.
- Segregated access routes were formed to both courtyards through the existing school building at ground floor level to allow access for the specialist piling rig required during construction of the spine. To minimise interface with live school operations, these routes were also used to enable segregated access/egress for site personnel, movement of excavated materials off-site and delivery of concrete for the foundations.
- To minimise disruption we installed the structural steel roof structure and supporting columns whilst leaving the pitched roof structure over the spine in-situ until it could be safely demolished in a weathertight environment.
- Weekend installation of the tower crane with detailed lifting plan was prepared and approved by the crane lift Appointed Person, under control of the Lift Supervisor. Dates were notified to the school well in advance, avoiding any clashes with staff and after-school clubs.
Futureproofing interface with future phases Initial works involved capping-off redundant services,
isolating existing services and identification of all services in the courtyards, incorporating futureproofing
measures for further masterplan phases.
The second infill courtyard to the west will eventually provide improvements to the school’s restricted catering and dining facilities. In this current phase we undertook a new resin finish to provide temporary improvement pending further masterplan works, A new stairway provides access from the existing staff dining room to the roof terrace.
The Social Value
With 78.4% of our RGS supply chain as Micro/SMEs, Neilcott maximised positive local social, economic and environmental impact over and above the value of the contract. We used local supply chains, targeted recruitment, training and apprenticeship opportunities. At RGS we worked collaboratively with the school to plan and offer a range of student engagement activities to the school, including work experience and targeted curriculum-support activities, also managing site tours for staff and governors.
