A Summer makeover for Hull College
Hull College Group wanted to upgrade the exterior of the tower block and Hull School of Art and Design (HSAD) on its Queen’s Gardens campus in Hull city centre. This included replacing the existing windows of the tower block with UPVC double glazing, as well as increasing the energy efficiency and solar performance of the HSAD building to improve the quality of light while enhancing the overall external appearance. Although it is not listed, the building is considered of significant interest in the Hull area and is an education hub in the heart of the city, so careful consideration needed to be given to how the external façade would look. This was particularly important as the area has become the new route to the Arctic Corsair deep-sea trawler, which has been converted to a museum ship and is a popular visitor attraction on the River Hull, so it was vital to ensure the area was aesthetically pleasing.
Due to the college’s location, logistical challenges included restricted space to work in and working in a live environment with a high footfall around the college for some of the scheme. Sewell Construction was appointed to carry out the 3,000sqm project following a competitive tendering process and was chosen based on value for money, as well as quality. Sewell has also completed other large schemes close to the college, including the refurbishment of Hull New Theatre and building the Ron Dearing University Technical College (UTC).
Hull College is one of the biggest further and higher education colleges in the country, offering more than 1,000 courses to over 26,000 students from over 115 different countries from its colleges in Hull, Goole and Harrogate each year. This amount of students is larger than the capacity of Hull’s KCOM Stadium. According to independent research, Hull College Group contributes £517 million annually to the economy in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire – the equivalent of 23,000 jobs with an average wage.
Project development
Weekly design meetings were held three months before work started on site, detailing the plans and working through the requirements of the scheme. Meanwhile, fortnightly on-site meetings and monthly client meetings were planned in advance to take place during the scheme.
As it was a live environment, segregation was important and construction work and deliveries needed to be well managed, planned ahead and communicated with the college team. There was a high footfall for approximately 14 hours of the day when the college was open and the team needed to consider building security while ensuring they didn’t disrupt the college day.
A tight timescale
Most of the work was carried out in the summer holidays, and a robust segregation system was planned in advance of any students arriving back on site. Working to a tight five-month timescale, phased completion dates were critical. Before work began, sequencing and timing to remove the existing glazed roof on the HSAD building had to be carefully planned to ensure the building wasn’t exposed to the elements. The supply chain was selected from tried and tested relationships and based on those have previously worked on other schemes of a similar nature and size.
"The new building refurbishment now offers a contemporary space for this work to begin and marks another chapter in the history of the school, which was founded in 1861"
Project delivery
Asbestos seals were removed from the old windows and disposed of correctly before new windows were installed. Work on the HSAD building included removing external roof glazing, insulating and re-roofing the rest of the building, upgrading the electrical installations and improving the fire alarm and detection systems.
A natural ventilation system was built in to replace the old system and self-cleaning glass was introduced.
Regular communitcation with stakeholders was key to ensure the project ran smoothly and without building user distruption. Demonstrations of the facilities were given once the project was complete for a seamless handover.
Results
The project was delivered on time and on budget without and any accidents or defects. We had 16 subcontractors involved in project, with an average of 25 operators on site per day.
Two apprentices | 85% local labour | 80% local spend | Less than 5% waste to landfill