Stanhope

At a time when the UK property market was emerging from the depths of the 1990s recession, we were determined to champion new and improved development methods.

In line with this focus on cultivating best practice, we challenged our construction manager Bovis Construction to come up with a wide range of efficiency improvements.  The construction of 31 Gresham St was both quick and economical thanks to the efficient working practices implemented in partnership with Bovis.  Daily work schedules and bonuses, coordinated material delivery and handling, and maximising prefabricated elements were among the initiatives, which led to a 14 per cent increase in productivity and a 12 per cent rise in productive man hours.  The shell and core of the building was completed in just 10 ½ months, while fit-out was finished in a further 4 ½ months, extremely quick for a building of this size.

Working with landowner Legal & General and our established partner Schroders, which was searching for new offices, we formed a tripartite agreement allowing us to meet the specific requirements of both the owner and the incoming occupier.

An existing planning permission was in place, but we were able to increase the floor area of the building (and consequently, its value) within a very similar overall size.  The resulting building maximises both daylight and usable space, with just four columns on a typical 16,000 sq ft floorplate.