Premier Interlink (Waco UK Ltd), in partnership with main contractor Mansell Construction, has been appointed to supply student accommodation as part of a multi-million £ project for the University College London to design and build a rooftop extension to the John Dodgson House - an existing college building located in London’s west end.
The contract was awarded to Premier Interlink for their understanding and expertise in the technically challenging aspects of this design and build.
The 1950’s built sandstone faced building will have a contemporary update comprising of the construction of a 5th and 6th floor modular building, with plant rooms above.
The 2-storey, 64 bay extension is the first roof top extension of it’s type and is to be supported on a structural steel grilleage with steel columns sprung from new basement sited piled pad foundations.
The 64 bedrooms will be clad in composite panels encased with a facade of solar panelled, non-reflective glass and fitted out internally to FF&E standards, complete with bathroom/shower pod and plastered ready for decoration and furniture placement. Sustainability features include a “green” roof.
This central London location demands exacting installation standards and permissions will be required to allow crane access. Installation timings will have to be exact which calls for excellent communication between the construction teams involved. A specially chosen delivery team from Premier Interlink have been involved from the beginning of the project and will produce a sample pre-production module/room as a test bed for design analysis ready for the client’s approval.
UCL is ranked seventh in the world's top ten universities by the QS World University Rankings (2011) and is associated with several major teaching hospitals – such as Great Ormond Street Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital. It is a worldwide major supplier of personnel to the medical profession and a hub of medical training.
University accommodation is a big issue in Central London. This project has been in development for two years and has been fast tracked a year earlier than originally planned due in some part to the recently revoked visa licence of one of London’s universities and expectations of higher international application numbers.