About the Project

Construction of 430 apartments in eight blocks across two plots, completed in 125 weeks. 

Chris Warren brought this difficult project in on time, on budget and defect-free. By insisting on the use of modern methods of construction, he reshaped the initial design and made a huge contribution to successful completion. 

Once it had become clear the budget could not support a traditional concrete frame and brickwork build, Chris turned to offsite fabrication. He introduced a lightweight steel frame that downsized the foundations hugely. 

He brought even further comfort to the build programme and project budget by having 700 bathroom pods delivered on a just-in-time basis. He also installed brick-slip rainscreen and pre-assembled bolt-on balconies from mobile elevated working platforms. Both initiatives eliminated the heavy logistics burden of wraparound scaffold as well as the expensive services of skilled bricklayers. His modern-methods strategy speeded up the build and avoided the risk of the resource overstretch suffered by traditional builds being undertaken on adjacent blocks on the site. 

As passionate about quality as buildability and budget, Chris insisted on the supply chain getting it right first time. His benchmarking approach included building a model apartment for each block and having samples provided of all elements of the build. Chris’s strong leadership of this large and complex scheme cemented excellent relationships with all stakeholders.