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Heathfield Nursery and Children's Centre

Richmond, London

Process

Heathfield is the first of three new build centres completed with funding from SureStart.  The centres are attached to existing primary schools and were commissioned in September 2006 with the last one opening in September 2009.

Selecting the architect

The architect for the centres was selected through a two stage competition, run with the support of a CABE enabler.  Entrants filled out an application, with six invited to submit proposals and attend an interview. 

The interview panel was made up of:

  • members of the Construction Services Team
  • the CABE enabler
  • the head teacher of the school. 

The judging was weighted to allow the winner to be selected on the design merits of the proposal. 

Using a design professional during selection

The CABE enabler was the only design professional on the interview panel and knew about all the entrants interviewed.  The other panel members valued the enabler’s opinion as it gave them the confidence to select the best scheme rather than the cheapest. 

Developing the brief

A feasibility study in 2006 explored options such as demolishing the caretaker’s house and nursery and evaluated these options against the area framework.  The competition brief was based on the study’s recommendation to extend the existing nursery. 

Following the tenders, cost analysis showed that it was more economical to build a new centre and that the SureStart funding was insufficient.  The local authority decided to use it’s reserves to cover this shortfall rather than trim the programme.

Consulting user groups

Public meetings in the local community and targeted focus groups with teachers gave people the opportunity to express their opinion about the design.  The architect consulted several user groups as part of the design process:

  • London Borough of Richmond Children’s Services
  • teachers
  • local residents.

The architects incorporated the feedback into the proposals, and the contribution of the teaching staff helped shape the way the spaces worked.

Delivering the project

The client appointed a project manager to ensure successful delivery of the project and Heathfield opened two years after the competition deadline.

A value engineering process took place to ensure that the project kept to the larger budget. This reduced the size of the building and the number of solar panels and added an internal courtyard to keep costs down.  This meant that the scheme had changed significantly from the initial brief once construction started.

Construction lasted 12 months and was characterised by a strong working relationship between the architect and contractors.  Both parties trusted each other and were committed to working as a team to deliver the building smoothly and on time.