374 APARTMENTS IN 18 MONTHS: DELIVERING ROYAL WINCHESTER HOUSE, BRACKNELL
LOCATION: Bracknell · SCHEME: 374 one and two-bedroom rental apartments across 19 storeys, part of the £750 million regeneration of Bracknell town centre · CLIENT: Comer Homes Group · DURATION: 18 months · TRADES: dry-lining, plastering, tiling, labour and management
THE CHALLENGE
At 374 apartments over 19 storeys, the risk on a scheme this size isn’t the first floor but the last one. Quality can drift, trades fall out of step, and a small delay on the hoist becomes weeks across the building. Our client also chose pod bathrooms and ensuites, which made moving materials around the site harder.
WHAT WE DID
Two phases, built to the top. We worked half the building all the way up first. The client could start moving people in while we finished the second phase.
Reporting that fitted around the site. Regular reports let us schedule material loading and hoist lifts around the client’s constraints and the road access, so our trades kept working.
Flexible labour. We had 30-40 tradesmen on site at the peak. That number moved with the demands of the project, the speed of the trades around us and any material delays.
Weekend work and multiple trades to meet the client’s deadlines.
The same people throughout. The same supervisors and teams ran the whole build, so the same people carried out the quality checks and snagging from start to finish.
THE RESULT
374 apartments completed in 18 months. The client still talks about how successful the project was, both for speed and for how quickly people could move into the apartments. The relationship was strengthened by the trust built on the project.
WHAT TO ASK ANY CONTRACTOR
On a scheme this size, ask how the standard is held across every unit, not just the first few. Look for the same supervisors and teams from start to finish.
