
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
34 | _BCC
ens ure the desired outcomes. Project
management is not on our top ten
list of enjoyable services; however, we
seem to be pretty good at it and if we
are managing the process it is easier
to keep control of the budget. A lot
of management entails understanding
the people and companies who are
involved, recognising their strengths
and weaknesses and ensuring they
provide what the designer and client
are looking for. Blame culture only ever
arises on a project if this gap is not
being filled.
We also provide standalone quantity
surveying services on other high-end
design projects, mostly customised
house designs, although we have also
worked on Wexford County Council
headquarters. This was designed
and redesigned pre-contract and we
managed to get everything to align,
before the tenders came back on a
31-million-euro budget. The reason
we can deliver something as bespoke
as this project on-budget is because
of our ability to picture what is in the
architect’s mind and what they are
trying to achieve. It won’t all be on
paper and will likely change, but our
ability to understand the process is
where weexcel.
A career with potential
One of our main issues as a company
is an extreme shortage of quantity
surveyors, and every year there are
fewer students undertaking degrees
in quantity surveying. In Scotland,
there are only a few universities that
offer a BSc course and in Glasgow
there is only one. For a profession that
dates back to the 18th century, with a
growing demand for talent and career
potential, it is perplexing to see such
adecline.
It may not be as prestigious as
architecture or design, but there is
huge value in a profession that, despite
technological advances, remains
important and well-paid.
We think it is vital that the government
shines a spotlight on the quantity
surveying field, so young people
heading to university, or those
looking to retrain, are aware of the
role and the scope of jobs available
post-graduation.
Quantity surveying and architecture
students must have a good
understanding of each other’s skills. I
have been a guest lecturer in quantity
surveying for the architecture students
at the Glasgow School of Art for a few
years now and have seen the benefit
this understanding brings to aspiring
architects. It gives them an insight into
the more hands-on, practical approach
that they will encounter at work.
This year, I spoke to a group of
quantity surveying students about
the importance of design and there
was such a positive response as they
had rarely heard a surveyor discuss its
importance. Perhaps highlighting this
importance will result in a resurgence
for the quantity surveying field. For
us, a further complication is that
we as a company are looking to
recruit surveyors who have a passion
for design, and this has proved a
difficulttask.
_BCC office
The whole
basis of the
practice is
based around
the arts
“
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35_BCC |
CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING
Australia
In 2007, we were approached by a
group that wanted to build a number
of five-a-side football centres in
Australia. We have history building
the Goals centres in the UK and threw
ourselves passionately into the project.
We had to get to the office at 6am to
be able to communicate on Australian
time but had to first wait for the land
to be found. It became clear that
we would have to find the land and
negotiate the deals, rather than just
being responsible for the build.
I travelled to Australia about three
times a year between 2007 and 2017
and since then two centres have been
built and are running with profit.
Putting this business together on the
other side of the world started with
one phone call, passion, drive and
a willingness to succeed. It’s a great
example that nothing is impossible if
you simply put your mind to it.
Looking ahead
We love what we do and the projects
we work on. Wexford County Council
was so enjoyable and the fees allowed
us to buy our office and refurbish it.
The larger projects are no more
difficult than the smaller projects; there
is just more material to measure.
We can’t understand why and how
other large-scale projects spiral out
of cost control. This is why, on our
projects, we like to get in early and
understand the goals..
We recently worked on a project in
Edinburgh with Lazaro Rosa-Violan,
who runs a Barcelona design practice.
Lazaro is one of the top ten designers in
the world and works all over theglobe.
Lazaro’s office in Barcelona is a
wonder; the practice has grown
organically in an old, large apartment
as the projects have come in.
Lazaro’s practice can decide which
projects they want to work on
now and they can charge fees that
represent their position in the industry.
This has always been what I feel _BCC
can do – we would like to work more
globally on the best design projects.
We love what
we do and the
projects we
work on
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“
»NOTABLE PROJECTS
We have been working with SWG3
for seven years. SWG3 was an arts
centre in a run-down old building in
Finnieston. The building had a leaking
roof, windows sealed with polythene,
no heating, a scrap yard on the ground
floor full of old bikes and a venue on
the first floor for bands, which had no
toilets. The artist studios had plywood
up to about two metres separating the
areas as pods. I met with SWG3 one
cold morning in 2013 on the top floor
of the old warehouse, the meeting taking place around a paraffin heater as they described their goals for the
building. The owner’s enthusiasm was addictive and his passion for what he was doing was unequivocal. He told
me that they had £20,000 in investment, so we agreed upon a plan and got to work.
Both of us wanted the project to happen so much that we just made it happen. The owner’s enthusiasm helped
achieve more funding and we arranged the works in phases, to allow increased revenue to fund the next stages
and this has gone on for about seven years. The venue is now one of the best for music and arts in the UK. It’s
one of my proudest achievements.