CMYA 2021 – Schools over £20m

Staggering the start date of each project by two weeks meant he could be on site for each of the initial site setups and lessons learned could be cascaded through. The result was minimal defects at practical completion.

He repeatedly shrank time, cost and risk. He overcame storm water discharge problems at three of the sites and substituted a dry stack with a geogrid retaining wall in place of a bulky brick retaining wall at two of the schools, cutting cost, time and earthworks.

On a project that involved the concurrent delivery of five buildings on five sites, the complexity and challenge were high. Fergus’s leadership of a 34-strong professional team including five site managers, five engineers and five foremen – not to mention five head teachers – demonstrated an open, collaborative and determined ethos that again brought success with his seventh project for the client.

SILVER: Lianne Lawson - Willmott Dixon

Project: Dixons Trinity, Chapeltown, Leeds
Scope: Construction of combined 420-place primary and 560-place secondary school, completed in 64 weeks
Client: Department for Education
Contract: JCT bespoke design and build
Value: £22m

Lianne Lawson’s determination and inspiration on a school scheme with myriad stakeholders was rewarded with early completion, a 10/10 quality score from the client, and an elated end user.

Probably the biggest change headache of all came from the last-minute instruction to include a bridge across the A58, which separated the school’s car park from its main building. She found the extra cost within the existing budget by value-engineering the foundations, changing the steel erection sequencing and rethinking an extensive cut and fill operation.

The client has awarded her another school project following her success on this one.