CIOB Construction Manager of the Year Awards 2021
Congratulations to our youngest Construction Manager Jordan for making it to the final of the UK Construction Manager of the Year awards, held last night at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
The Construction Manager of the Year Awards (CMYA) celebrate the achievements of those who inspire, lead and enable the very best delivery of a project and produce buildings that have a positive impact on those who use them.
These unique awards were initiated in 1978 by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). During this time, CMYA has been showcasing incredible talent and highlighting the abilities of Construction Managers across the UK every year. An in-depth judging process ensures that the calibre of winners is consistently high, and as a result, the awards have a reputation for identifying the future leaders in the construction industry.
Jordan’s most recent project was the completion of a multi-use 22,000m2 refurbishment and new build in Plymouth. Faced with a technically complex cocktail of not only refurbishment and new build but also demolition, cut and carve and structural alteration, it had overwhelmed the team however Jordan managed to turn this project around. Taking over a scheme where the programming didn’t reflect the build reality, he imposed clear and insightful planning, and repaired a strained client relationship. Practical, pragmatic and solutions-focused, he engaged the site team and drove progress. His exceptional effort delivered successful completion and handover.
Construction: 500 student bedrooms, 110-bedroom hotel and seven retail units
Contract: JCT, with amendments
Value: £48m
The technical complexity of this project came close to sinking the initial construction effort. A cut and carve of an old four-storey department store, it involved the addition of four storeys to an adjoining three-storey building. Four large internal courtyards had to be created, and structural alterations made to the existing steel frame and concrete deck floors to allow a lightweight, single-storey extension for a hotel.
When Jordan Allingham arrived on site, he encountered a project in major difficulty. The programming was failing, resources were misaligned and the supply chain lacked commitment.
Jordan resuscitated construction by rewriting the programme to realistic timeframes, based on his in-depth understanding of the build process rather than target dates, and ensuring the team had it off by heart. He repaired the client relationship through careful planning and frequent updates to ensure clarity and trust.
Practical and pragmatic, Jordan drove a complicated mix of demolition, refurbishment, cut and carve, new build and external landscaping. He scheduled his deliveries around the supply chain movements of a ground-floor store that remained open for the duration of the project. He managed an exacting steels removal process that would have convinced many that giving up and pulling the whole structure down was the only way forward.
And he showed a mastery of the temporary works that allowed him to construct a new top storey for the hotel while extending the adjacent building by four floors – an approach that left the whole build roofless for a considerable period. Despite it all, Jordan led the project to successful completion and handover.
Read more from the CIOB.