Construction Manager of the Year Awards 2009

After detailed interviews and site visits, this year’s CMYA judges concluded that no fewer than 115 individuals had attained the standards of professionalism, technical expertise and team-building skills necessary to reach the final. Over the next 25 pages, we tell the stories behind the success of overall winner David Wilson (above), and 23 gold and silver medalists – the  very best of the industry’s distinguished high-fliers. Photographs by Ed Tyler

A modest man by nature, David Wilson would never have expected to be named Construction Manager of the Year. But the judges just couldn’t ignore his work at York St John University’s De Grey Court. Elaine Knutt met him

Into the limelight

Amid back-slapping congratulations, an impromptu congratulatory speech from
his Morgan Ashurst director, and even an off-the-cuff job offer from another contractor, David Wilson is enjoying the aftershock of having been awarded the title of Construction Manager of the Year. Several judges single him out to tell him he was their unanimous choice and last year’s winner Anthony Joubert (below right) is on hand to offer his congratulations. “Did your life change?” Wilson jokingly asks him.

But even if that job offer is the first of many – “I told him he couldn’t afford my prices!” was Wilson’s quick-fire response – it seems unlikely that certain aspects of his personality and professionalism will be changing. Throughout all the commotion, the 44-year-old responds to the demands on his attention with a smile, a joke and a promise to return later, politely prioritising what happens to be the task in hand – an interview with CM.

As he describes his achievements on York St John University’s De Grey Court, it becomes clear that Wilson’s personal warmth and people skills had a great deal to do with how he ran the project. Describing the no-blame culture within the team, he also talks about “the necessary evil” of email.

“I say, always make a phone call, or pay someone a visit. And if you’ve got to
break bad news, don’t send an email then go to lunch – pick up the phone and talk to them!”

Wilson, a graduate of Ulster University, also stresses the effort he puts into building team relationships and a positive atmosphere. “Life’s work is hard and can sometimes take over, so it’s important that we have some good times along the way,” he says, his accent a blend of his Northern Irish upbringing and his 20-plus years in Yorkshire.

De Grey Court, which consisted of a new-build teaching block and the refurbishment of two grade-II listed houses, no doubt generated its fair share of bad news. First, the client had a fixed budget of £9.344m, making it crystal clear that there could be no overspend. It meant that every item of extra expenditure had to be offset with cuts – and knock-on problems – elsewhere. Wilson succeeded in implementing a tough but necessary strategy. As he told awards host Natasha Kaplinsky: “My wife now understands the meaning of cost neutrality!”

The technical complications were considerable, including an M&E spec of chilled beams and underfloor heating in the new building, and archaeology and underpinning in the refurbishment. But Wilson highlights the project’s location and the resulting logistics challenge as the hardest nut to crack. The site was surrounded by three major traffic routes, other campus buildings and a residential area. “The location on the busiest junction in York was a challenge in itself, as was trying to keep to a build sequence that let us get all the materials in and out.”

Then there were the 57 planning conditions to adhere to, Morgan Ashurst’s commitment to using local suppliers and sub-contractors, and the immovable deadline of the start of the academic year.

But Wilson’s biggest achievement was undoubtedly delivering the design quality that makes De Grey Court the CM cover star and the proud recipient of an RIBA regional award. Under the design and build contract, London-based architect Rivington Street Studio was novated to Morgan Ashurst. As practice director Charles Thomson says, such a relationship can easily become dysfunctional if the indefinables that make up design quality end up at odds with the all-too-definable metrics of budget and programme.

But at De Grey Court, Wilson was responsible for putting quality top of the agenda. “We had our arguments and debates, but there was a very clear sense that they wanted to achieve a quality product, and David Wilson was at the head of that,” says Thomson. “They understood our standards and were rigorous with their sub-contractors if things weren’t going well. David was the lead man, very passionate and interested in the project, and endlessly pushing for design quality.”

Wilson’s passion for the project began during the tender stage, when he was put forward as Morgan Ashurst’s project manager and drew up a strategy to cut £1m from the budget. According to Chris Richards, chair of the judging panel, it was his honesty about the problems ahead that impressed the client and won Morgan Ashurst the job. “He laid out all the logistical problems that would be encountered, and applied his knowledge of construction to solve them. This is an experienced client, and he says that De Grey Court is the best he’s ever done.”

The project is now a landmark in York, and a turning point in Wilson’s professional life. “What does winning the award mean? It gives me the confidence that how I’m running projects must be going along the right lines,” he says modestly. “It’s about working together to find a solution for every problem.”

As for the future, he’s thinking ahead to a celebratory weekend away with his wife, and working on projects closer to home and his young family in Shipley, West Yorkshire. Apart from that, he’s just concentrating on enjoying the moment.

Finalists

PROJECTS OVER £45m

• John Birch MCIOB, Skanska Construction Private Sector
• Dashwood, 69 Old Broad Street, London EC2
• Chris Edwards, BAM Construction
• C4.1 South Fifth Street, Milton Keynes
• Thady Gallagher, Carillion Building
• HM Prison Edinburgh, Phase 3
• Alan Grant ACIOB, BAM Construction
• Darwin Centre, Phase Two, Natural History Museum, London
• Tim Hare, Sir Robert McAlpine
• New Street Square Buildings 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, London EC4
• Hamish James MCIOB, Sir Robert McAlpine
• Buildings 005, 014, 016, Porton Down, Salisbury
• Martyn Woodhouse, Bovis Lend Lease
• The Curve Theatre, Leicester

PROJECTS £20–45m

• Sam Barker MCIOB, Willmott Dixon Construction
• The Waterfront Building, Phase 1, University Campus Suffolk
• John Connell, Bovis Lend Lease
• Wells & More Project, Mortimer Street, London
• John Daltrey, Wates Interiors
• Telecity Powergate, Acton
• Mike Gorman MCIOB, Wates Construction
• The Headrow, Leeds
• Adam Knaggs, SDC Builders 
• NAPP Phase 1, Buildings 194,196 & 198, Cambridge Science Park, Trinity College, Cambridge
• Andrew Mackintosh, Willmott Dixon Construction
• HM Prison, Lindholme, Doncaster
• Stephen Roome, BAM Construction
• Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, Birmingham
• David Saville MCIOB, Laing O’Rourke
• University Place, The University of Manchester
• Jospeh Schembri, Kier London
• 129 Wilton Road, London
• Kevin Scott, Wates Group
• Langley Academy of Science, Slough
• Richard Shroll ACIOB, Wates Construction
• The Margaret Thatcher Infirmary, The Royal Chelsea Hospital
• Roland Spikings MCIOB, Kier Marriott
• Victory, Agness, Cobra and Keen Office Blocks, 
• EDS, Milton Keynes
• Cameron Stewart ICIOB, Miller Construction (UK)
• Mixed Development Wm Morrison Supermarkets, Granton
• Eric Swithenbank, Miller Construction
• Carnival House, Harbour Parade, West Quay III, Southampton
• Steven Turner, Kier Longley
• HM Prison Lewes Houseblock & Associated Infrastructure, Lewes

PROJECTS £15–20m

• Richard Black ACIOB, Simons Construction
• Warburton Bread Factory, Bristol
• Neville Dale MCIOB, Willmott Dixon Construction
• Epsom Grandstand
• Tom Maguire MCIOB, Bovis Lend Lease
• 1 The Avenue, Manchester
• Mark Powell MCIOB, Wates Construction
• Manor Church of England School, York
• Eddy Tipping ICIOB, Rydon Construction
• Bishop Ramsey School, Ruislip
• Chris Woods, Kier Southern
• Village Hotel, Elstree
• PROJECTS £10–15m
• Karl Barr MCIOB, Mace Group
• 99 Milton Park and 100 Milton Park, Innovation Centre, Abingdon
• Mike Fallon, Kier North West
• Floral Pavilion Theatre, New Brighton
• Damien Froehlich MCIOB, Mansell Build 
• Stanley Building and Edward Rushton Building, 
• Paradise Street Development, Liverpool
• Phil Heavey ACIOB, Wates Construction
• Sunrise Senior Living, Beaconsfield
• Simon Neath ICIOB, Wates Construction
• The Ann Marie Howes Centre, Sheldon
• Gary Owens, Cowlin Construction 
• Swansea University Student Accommodation Phase 2, Singleton Park, Swansea
• Sean Sweet, Morgan Ashurst
• Freemans Quay Leisure Centre, Durham
• Andy Tolfree, GB Building Solutions
• Sunrise Senior Living, Sonning
• Jason Wooldridge, Wates Construction
• Sunrise Senior Living, Bagshot

PROJECTS £7–£10m

• Stephen Brook FCIOB, Kier Western
• Sainsbury’s Superstore, Taunton
• Noel Cafferty MCIOB, Willmott Dixon Construction
• University of Cambridge Centre for the Physics of Medicine
• Michael Devaney ICIOB, Kier Wallis
• Wolfson Education Centre, Hammersmith
• Nicholas Dodd, (formerly of Verry Construction) 
• Newhall Projects
• Newhall North Chase Phases 1 & 2, Essex
• Stephen Forshaw, Interserve
• Parliament House, Edinburgh
• Richard Hamlin MCIOB, Kier South East
• Faraday House, Isle of Grain, Rochester, Kent
• Phil Hodgson, BW Interiors 
• Geneva House and Zurich House, Aerospace Centre, Farnborough
• Paul Lacy, Willmott Dixon Construction
• Swindon Central Library
• David McEwan, City Building (Glasgow) 
• St Fillans Primary School, Glasgow
• Ben Moylan, Carillion 
• Thanet Phase 2, Kent
• Paul Nash, Leadbitter Group
• Aardman Animations Headquarters, Bristol
• Garry Stamp, R Durtnell & Sons 
• Tonbridge Schools Sports & Media Centre, Kent
• Chris Travers ICIOB, Mace Group
• Riverside Buildings A, B & C, Granta Park, Cambridge
• Stephen Waldron, Willmott Dixon Construction
• Forest Way SEN School, Leicester
• Tom Weal, The Apollo Property Services Group 
• The Michael Tippett School, London SE24
• Keith Williams MCIOB, Morgan Ashurst
• Kentish Town Health Centre

PROJECTS £5–£7m

• Ian Armitage, ISG Regions 
• Ramada Encore Hotel, Barnsley
• Tom Clarke, Midas Retail UK
• M&S Home & Food, Cardiff Capital
• Philip Greville, ISG Jackson
• TC3 New Catalysts Technology Building, Johnson Matthey, Royston
• John Hastie ICIOB, Kier Scotland
• Loch Primary School, Rutherglen
• Colin Hodge, Leadbitter Construction
• Chelsea Football Club Youth Academy
• Peter McStay, Kier Wallis
• Australian House Refurbishment, Strand, London
• James Roberts ACIOB, Morgan Ashurst
• Rye Community Primary School and Childrens Centre, East Sussex
• John Ross MCIOB, Central Building Contractors 
• Carrochan, Balloch 
• Chris Taylor, Kier Marriott
• Think Tank Lincoln Innovation Centre
• André Witter MCIOB, Willmott Dixon Construction
• St Agnes Church of England Primary School, Manchester

PROJECTS £2–£5m

• Geoff Bull, The Apollo Property Services Group 
• Rockmount Primary School, London SE19
• Kevin Donaldson MCIOB, Robertson Construction Northern
• Mezzanine Floor, ASDA Store, Elgin
• Toby Goplen MCIOB, Debut Services 
• Project SLAM, Commando Training Centre, Lympstone
• Christian Huckstep, Morgan Ashurst
• Queens Hill Primary School, Costessey, Norfolk
• Alan Kelly, Killby & Gayford
• Royal College of Pathologists Education Centre, London SW1
• Matt Sidwell MCIOB, Midas Retail
• Wm Morrison Superstore, Horndean
• Roy Ward, ISG Regions 
• All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bradford

PROJECTS £2m AND BELOW

• Lyndon Burrell, Wates Construction
• Oxford Jet New Business Aviation Terminal, Oxford
• Neal Kavanagh, BW Interiors 
• 40 Portman Square, Level 4, London W1
• Danny Roberts ACIOB, Ashe Construction
• UCMK, Milton Keynes
• Andrew Robins MCIOB, Snibor 
• JM Upward Academic Centre, Port Regis School, Dorset
• James Woolfrey, Killby & Gayford
• HBOS Fit Out, Westfield, W12

PFI

• Alasdair Fernie MCIOB, Balfour Beatty Construction
• New Victoria Hospital, Glasgow
• Tony Harrison, Kier Regional
• The Radclyffe School, Chadderton
• Derek Jones, Cowlin Construction
• Maesteg Comprehensive School, Maesteg, Cardiff
• Tony Miller, Rydon Construction
• Newton Abbot Community Hospital
• Donald McPhail, Sir Robert McAlpine
• St Pauls R.C Academy, Dundee
• Steve Watson, GB Building Solutions 
• Sidcup Leisure Centre & Sidcup Golf Club House

RESTORATION

• Gary Collings, Cathedral Works Organisation
• The Monument, London EC3
• Brian Shackleton, Laing O’Rourke Construction North 
• Leeds Grand Theatre, Phase 2

RESIDENTIAL OVER £14m

• Tudor Fordham, Hill Partnerships
• Wenlock Street, Hackney, London N1
• David Sershall ICIOB, John Sisk & Son
• Forum House, Empire Way, Wembley
• Ray Toft ICIOB, Galliford Try Partnership
• Taylor Place, London

RESIDENTIAL UNDER £14m

• Tony Butcher ICIOB, Taylor Wimpey North Thames
• Croft Court, Campbell Park, Milton Keynes
• Matthew Cooper ICIOB, Cowlin Construction
• John Foster’s Almshouse, Bristol
• Lloyd Hardy ICIOB, GB Building Solutions 
• Oaklands and Eden View, Barcester Healthcare Home, Bottisham
• Cain Peters, Hill Partnerships
• Osprey House, Bishops Green, Hants
• Ross Taylor ICIOB, Inspace Partnerships
• Blue Court, 6 Sherbourne St, Islington