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Contact | Apr 12 Region in focus

Region in focus: Wales

CARDIFF

BBC’s Cardiff building is first in the UK to gain BREEAM ‘outstanding’

The BBC’s Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff Bay

WALES

Major projects underway l Cardiff International Sports Village, one of the largest regeneration projects currently in the UK. The site has a 50m Olympic standard swimming pool, a temporary ice rink and a white water canoeing and kayaking centre. Upon completion, it will also have an indoor snow centre and a hotel, although a 220m observation tower and a super-casino initially planned are unlikely to be realised.

Projects in the pipeline l Vinci Construction UK has won a

£23m contract from Cambrian Holst to build student housing and a fire station in central Cardiff. The two projects will run in tandem and will involve working in partnership with architect Morgan 2 Hayman and

structural engineer Jubb Consulting. l Planning approval has been granted for a £230m development

to regenerate Barry waterfront l The Welsh government has scaled back its £1.4bn schools building programme and will now only be providing 50%. Local councils will now have to find the extra £700m or scale back plans.

Number of CIOB Members: 1,426

Number of people employed in construction: 117,290

Economic forecast Output is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 2.5% to 2014, higher than the national average figure of 1.7%. The new work sector is predicted to perform better than repair and maintenance. Recruitment is predicted to be above the UK average. Source: The Construction Index

Vinci Construction UK’s South West & Wales Building region has delivered a BREEAM “outstanding” rating at the BBC’s Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff Bay. The scheme, led by senior project manager Kieran

Mulrooney, involves a “drama village” of nine studio buildings, a main office, a bridge connecting the island site to Cardiff Bay and one of the largest free-standing gabion walls in Europe. It is the first industrial building in the UK to achieve an “outstanding” certificate from BREEAM. The scheme has many sustainable features, and the project team were able to divert 96% of waste from landfill through its waste management strategies, representing a £1.2m saving to the client, Igloo Regeneration Partnership. Use of mainly local suppliers helped save 90t of CO2

a month, and use

of a green energy tariff saved a further 100t of CO2 during construction.

Water saving measures such as rainwater

harvesting will mean 2.4 million litres will be saved annually. At 20, the energy performance asset rating exceeded the BBC’s benchmark of 33 and igloo’s target of 23, and is comfortably within Category A.

High standards met Vinci Construction UK building division regional director, Steve Vorres, said given that the project delivered against a very fast programme, “it is a fantastic achievement”. “It is further recognition for Kieran and his team who worked tirelessly to achieve the high standards

of sustainability and community engagement on this project, which was delivered on time and within budget whilst exceeding client expectations,” he added.

Some of the innovative solutions Mulrooney and the whole development team found included reusing around 15,000m3

of spoil elsewhere on site to reduce costs and CO2 with regards to traffic

movements; a cladding solution sped up construction and provided enhanced acoustic performance; the green backwall was designed to offer a sanctuary to local wildlife and be self sufficient with no need for irrigation or fertilisers.

Everyone’s happy Considerate Constructors Scheme audits were exceptional, with scores of 37 and 36.5, including perfect marks in the “environment”, “good neighbour” and “safe” categories, earning the project a Performance Beyond Compliance certificate and a National Award. Igloo development director, Mark Hallett, said he was particularly impressed by Vinci’s focus on sustainability and community engagement. “We originally specified BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating, but by working closely together we managed to exceed that and achieve an ‘outstanding’ rating. It is a testament to the whole development team.”

For more information on Vinci Construction see www.vinciconstruction.co.uk