About the Project

Demolition and reconstruction of eight-storey building with retained facade, completed in 192 weeks.

Barry Kingscote’s calmness, professionalism and enthusiasm for problem-solving drove success on a scheme that had trouble written all over it, with busy roads on the site perimeter, multiple party walls, a retained facade, and construction of a large second-level basement.

By challenging the design and championing cost- and programme-efficient solutions, Barry delivered value and innovation. He introduced a reinforced concrete core in place of steel, and blockwork in place of precast panels. Crucially, he formed the second level of the basement with secant piling rather than sheet, which reduced vibration and noise as well as complexity and cost by allowing part of the building load to be transferred through the new secant wall.

Equally transformational was Barry’s use of pile caps between the existing foundations for the facade retention structure. It allowed a slenderer pile design, and easier integration and coordination with the new structural steel frame. And once the frame was permanently connected to the facade, he added an array of 50 steel ‘needles’ to the retention structure to support four storeys of the facade while the shopfront was rebuilt.

Having essentially won this contract through the success of a previous £51m project for a customer that had never before operated as a lone client, Barry delivered another tour de force. Once again, the contractor has won repeat business – the fit-out on this project – largely in recognition of the added value Barry brought.