Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) has decided to use the JCT Constructing Excellence Contract (JCT-CE) for its building conservation and improvements programme. HRP is using the contract together with the JCT-CE Project Team Agreement and is in the pilot year of a three-year programme of works. HRP is one of a growing list of clients embracing collaboration and adopting the JCT – Constructing Excellence Contract to achieve its objectives. HRP chose JCT – Constructing Excellence because of the way it integrates the team, the way it…

One of London’s most recognisable landmarks, 30 St Mary Axe (affectionately called “the Gherkin”) was built under a JCT contract. The 76,400 square metres project was commissioned by Swiss Re to replace the Baltic Exchange, which had been damaged by an IRA bomb in 1992. When planners realised the Exchange could not be recovered, they agreed to consider plans that were architecturally significant and unique. They sought an innovative, functional building that would not be too imposing on the traditionally narrow London streetscape. The Gherkin…

The 14,500 seat stand at this world-renowned stadium was completed in 2005 for Surrey County Cricket Club by Taylor Woodrow under a JCT Major Project Construction Contract. The £25m project involved the replacement of the existing stands with a new multi-level building with four seating tiers, three levels of hospitality lounges and an open promenade terrace. The original concept was developed by HOK SVE, with The Miller Partnership completing the detailed design, interior and landscaping. The sweeping aerofoil roof provides a setting and focus for…

The City of London’s newest, and highest, addition to its skyline was built using a JCT Major Project Construction Contract. The 230m high Heron Tower, completed earlier this year, replaced Tower 42, the former NatWest Tower, as the City’s highest building. It is the third-highest building in London after Canary Wharf and The Shard, due for completion next year and a project also using a JCT form of contract. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, Heron Tower is 46 storeys tall with a restaurant, sky bar…

In the film ‘Field of Dreams’, Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella is told in his corn field that “if you build it, he will come”. This was referring to the construction of a baseball field that will re-unite him with his late, estranged father. Following this premonition, Ray has to undergo a series of challenges in order to pull off this beyond-the-grave feat. In the face of financial ruin and the doubt of his peers, Ray ultimately succeeds to bring about Hollywood’s most epic father-and-son…

The Place, is the latest commercial project of developer Sellar’s London Bridge Quarter scheme. It sits in the shadow of its bigger sibling The Shard, but resolving the complex challenges in creating this building has yielded an extraordinary project, quite worthy of sharing the same space as its lauded neighbour. A JCT Major Project Construction Contract underpinned the solution.Several pioneering techniques were adopted by the project team in building The Shard. On The Place, with the same team, including contractor Mace and architect Renzo Piano,…

JCT Design and Build contract is used for the next chapter of the Tudor warship’s conservation story. It’s been over thirty years since the Mary Rose was excavated from the Solent near Portsmouth and placed in its current location at the centre of Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. The Tudor warship, which sank on 19 July 1545, along with 19,000 artefacts, gives a unique view into nautical history. More than simply a display piece however, the Mary Rose is a mixture of museum and complex conservation project….

Part building, part installation, part event – The Shed A temporary theatre space situated on London’s South Bank, is the result of a collaborative process that merged the opportunity to explore new ways of making theatre with the chance to experiment with architectural design. A JCT Intermediate Building Contract took centre stage. The Shed is a one-year temporary theatre built to provide the National Theatre with a third space whilst the Cottesloe Theatre (the smallest of the NT’s three auditoriums) is closed for redevelopment. It…

A sensitive and sustainable restoration of a Cornish tin mine Heartlands beats at the centre of the community and Mining World Heritage Site alike. A JCT Standard Building Contract provided the contract solution. The Heartlands project is the gateway centre to the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. It is a mixed-use area, comprising new-build development, conversion and the restoration of an original Cornish tin mine and engine. Located in Pool, West Cornwall, Heartlands is central to the wider Camborne Pool Redruth…

Deemed too costly and complex to renovate, the fire damaged and derelict Astley Castle. That was before its triumphant rebirth in 2012. Formerly owned by three English queens, Astley Castle gained a new crown in 2013 by winning the RIBA Stirling prize. A JCT Intermediate Building Contract with contractor’s design was the contract solution at the centre of this ancient showcase. Located in North Warwickshire, Astley Castle started its life in the 12th Century as a fortified manor house. In 1420, Sir William Astley died,…