About the Project

Millwrights Place and Coopers Court

Covering everything from sample apartments to fire-stopping details and envelope sections, his early benchmark apartment was described as ‘insanely good’ by the scheme funder, and the standard was maintained through to completion. Meanwhile the local authority’s building control inspectors have recognised the project as an exemplar as a result of David’s absolute attention to detail on fire safety compliance.

The problematic logistics on a city centre site with no storage space also included not blocking the route of fire engines at a neighbouring fire station. David’s response was to rent an off-site materials storage yard and bring in a logistics manager. After organising a lessons-learned workshop from a previous project, he created a more robust and cost-effective building by prefabricating the balconies and bolting them on.

Delay was a dirty word. When serious hold-ups to an adjacent development prevented him deploying a 60-ton piling rig to operate from an upper ground floor, David had a propping system designed and installed to cut short the setback. And when events beyond his control postponed the connection to the district heat network by months, he devised a solution for progressing the structural frame and accommodating the network installation later on.

What client wouldn’t have been thrilled?