This family home, built on the site of a small farmstead in County Down, Northern Ireland, used basic materials but a high level of attention to detail to create an outstanding quality building on a very modest budget. Designed by McGonigle McGrath Architects, with Hans Crosby as main contractor, it was winner of both the RIBA and Grand Designs House of the Year 2019 and was built on a JCT Intermediate Building Contract. The brief for this project was to create a simple property to…

Wesley House is a theological college located in Jesus Lane, Cambridge. Originally independent of Cambridge University, it was sold to Jesus College in 2014. With both a reduction in size and an adjustment of focus to post-graduate study, a redevelopment of the site was required to optimize the space and provide improved facilities. With construction starting in 2015, the new building was opened in April last year. A JCT Intermediate Building Contract was the form of choice. The original Wesley House was constructed in the…

The Lookout, on the coastal edge of the New Forest National Park, is a new visitor centre and restaurant providing visitors with stylish recreational space in a picturesque setting. Hampshire County Council was both client and designer for this project, which used a JCT Standard Building Contract. The Lookout at Lepe Country Park is one of the few points that provides easy access to the coastline within the New Forest. It has always been a popular spot with visitors, due to its history and stunning…

Due to be completed in Spring 2020, the Taff Vale redevelopment scheme is the start of a major new regeneration project for Pontypridd. A JCT Design and Build Contract provides the solution for two new office blocks and a statement community building. In recent years the decline of development in Pontypridd, South Wales has in part been the result of a neighbouring city’s own success; the regeneration projects in nearby Cardiff have resulted in business and employment opportunities moving away from the local area. Rhondda…

70 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as “The Can of Ham” due to its recognisable curved design, is the latest high-rise to join an increasingly visually competitive City skyline. Prizing open the lid reveals some unique features and a design that demanded absolute precision in its construction to ensure its success. A JCT Design and Build Contract provided the contract solution. The Can of Ham, designed by Foggo Associates, is a collaboration between contractor Mace and client/developer TH Real Estate. The 21-storey, 28,000m² tower, provides…

Solidspace’s Tetris-style mansion apartment building at 81–87 Weston Street in Bermondsey, London, is the result of a 10-year collaboration between the developer and architect firm, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM). Defined as ‘slow architecture’, the time taken to develop the design and the approach, using finely crafted and bespoke materials, brings an elegance that redefines brutalism for the 21st century. A JCT Major Project Construction Contract provided the contract solution. 81–87 Weston Street epitomises Solidspace’s development speciality—finding gap sites and pocket sites, which are challenging…

The UK’s first University Technical College to use offsite construction methods Completed in 2016, the Global Academy in Hayes, West London, is a state-of-the-art school for 14-19-year-olds, aimed at students pursuing careers in the media and broadcast industries. It is one of the UK’s most efficient modular buildings, and the first education establishment of its kind to use offsite construction. Mixing traditional construction methods with a state-of-the-art modular approach enabled the entire 8,700m² , £16m project to be completed within a year. A JCT Design…

When completed later this year, the new terraces of flats and houses at Goldsmith Street, Norwich will be the UK’s largest Passivhaus development. If that wasn’t ambitious enough, it is also commissioned by Norwich Council as a 100% social housing scheme. A JCT Standard Building Contract provided the contract solution. Goldsmith Street is the pinnacle of a recent series of developments which is seeing Norfolk become a hub in the UK for Passivhaus projects. Designed by Mikhail Riches Architects and built by RG Carter, it…

A devastating fire in 2010 destroyed 90% of the super-structure of Hastings Pier, leaving only the western pavilion building salvageable. With funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the local community, the opportunity was taken to redefine the role of a pier for the 21st Century. The fabulous result – which won the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2017 – was built on a JCT Minor Works Building Contract. Hastings Pier’s history goes back to 1872 as a classic, Victorian style, pier designed by Eugenius Birch…

Derwent London’s latest commercial development, White Collar Factory, combines years of research,lessons learned from well-built historic industrial spaces, and best practice in sustainable modern office design, to deliver a low-cost, low impact, and flexible working environment. A JCT Design and Build Contract provided the contract solution. Located overlooking Old Street roundabout, White Collar Factory is surrounded by the trendy and artistic enclaves of Shoreditch, Hoxton and Clerkenwell in the northern part of the City of London. Home to Tech City, Old Street is a diverse…