Track record

Nursery conversion, Capitol Way, Colindale

Delivery of a conversion of office space to deliver a nursery facility within a short 12-week programme

Building Surveying

Service

£470,000

Project value

Offices

Education

Industry

James Porter

The project

Rapleys was instructed to act as the Employer’s Agent to project manage the £470,000 refurbishment of an office into a Nursery, which included working with the client to finalise their design brief. The key design parameters included the number of classrooms and the age groups within each one. The Nursery also needed to include staffrooms, a kitchen, WCs together with office and storage rooms.

The project programme was only 12 weeks, with an opening date of January 2024. There was no room for slippage on this date, with parents signed up for the Nursery’s grand opening! Our building surveyors had to consider the procurement route that would offer the quickest design and construction period, whilst still controlling some design responsibility.

As well as acting as the Employer’s Agent, Rapleys acted as Principal Designer. We prepared the pre-construction information pack which is required for the Principal Designer role under the CDM Regulations 2015. This document was issued to the contractor at tender stage so they could assess the resources they would need allocated to perform their duties under the regulations.

Partner – Building Consultancy

James Porter

Our recognition of time constraints and adaptability in approach ensured that the Nursery successfully opened to programme.

Our solution

The Rapleys team worked closely with the architect to quickly produce concept designs that met the client’s requirements and satisfied the Building Regulations.

The approved drawings formed part of the Employer’s Requirements and tender pack that was issued to contractors to competitively price. The preferred contractor produced the construction drawings that were approved by Rapleys and the client.

The contractor was able to get to site at the earliest opportunity and completed the works before the opening date.

Rapleys overcame challenges with minor design changes during the construction and managed the budget for the client, meeting their expectations and providing an excellent Nursery for the local community.

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