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Willmott Dixon’s name shone brightly at the Construction Manager of the Year awards at the Grosvenor Hotel in Park Lane after three of its 13 finalists walked away with gold medals.
The annual event by the CIOB celebrates the very best in project management and Willmott Dixon had the honour of securing more golds on the night than any other company. The event is the industry’s most respected awards for individual excellence on construction projects, with a rigorous judging process that includes a detailed submission followed by a one hour interview with all candidates.
The first of Willmott Dixon’s gold medal winners was Mark Thornhill in the housing above £12m category for Denham Garden Village near Rickmansworth. This was a three phase, five year construction of a retirement village and judges said, “Mark’s attention to detail shone through. He delivered all three phases on time and £150k under budget after absorbing £500,000 of client enhancements.”
The second winner was Lee Bushell in the new build up to £4m category for a sixth form extension to Kendrick Girls School. Judges said, “He overcame all challenges with equal aplomb. For example, the planning authority asked for the building line to be moved forward by 3m.
That took the building footprint over a high-voltage underground cable. Applying for a cable diversion but fearing delay, Lee installed a slip duct around the cable and cantilevered the slab above it. It was a smart solution that designed out the delay risk.”
The company’s third winner was Andy Miles for Rogiet Primary School in Wales in the £4-6m category. This is one of the country’s highest scoring BREEAM projects and judges said, “It takes a great deal of hard work to make a construction project look easy. Yet visitors to Andy Miles’ project were struck not by how much work was going on, but for the calm and controlled way it was being managed.”
The other ten finalists were;
• Purvis for Orpington College
• Geoff Kempt for HMP Swaleside
• Ian Williamson for Corby East Midlands International Pool
• James Murphy for Chessington Community College
• Mike Lane for Abraham Guest High School
• Nick Heath for HMP Nottingham
• Paul Evans for Ceredigion County Council Offices
• Robert Finbow for Barnsbury Flats and Community Centre
• Sabah Abed for City Academy Hackney
• Stephen Harnett for John Perryn School.