Client’s Requirements

Sheffield UTC specialises in advanced engineering and materials, and creative and digital industries, and will be sponsored by the city's two universities - Sheffield Hallam and Sheffield University. UTCs are being set up so students can benefit from the expertise of local business, further education colleges, vocational education experts and universities.

Silcock Leedham’s Contribution

The project was procured under the PfS framework (partnership for schools, the forerunner to the Education Funding Agency) where Silcock Leedham was invited to partner with Wates Construction as part of their bid team against the other 11 main contractors on the panel.

Once successful with the pre-bid, our team undertook a 12 week period of consultation & engagement with the client to develop the ERs and form a coherent design to their requirements within the allotted funding envelope in direct competition with one other main contract team. Our team were ultimately awarded the contract.

SL then developed the M&E design in full collaboration with the Structural Engineer & Architect, advising on main service route sizes, building orientation, space massing, room dimensions, fabric & glazing specifications to enable the optimal solution to be achieved both in terms of energy end use & installation costs.

The contractor’s proposals were tendered to M&E subcontractors and Silcock Leedham was novated over to complete the design whilst being retained by Wates Construction as their technical advisors & to undertake site inspections, progress reporting, defects snagging & witnessing.

Added Value / Unique Selling Points

Silcock Leedham was closely involved in the project from inception and was able to offer valuable input to other disciplines to aid and advise on the impacts of their early design decisions.

We also performed the role of BREEAM Assessor & Accredited Professional from early design stage.

Significant thermal, airflow and daylight modelling was undertaken throughout the early stages of the project to validate and inform the building layout and fabric constructions.

As with all projects, a Silcock Leedham project lead was appointed to take the project from bid to completion. This enables a consistency of knowledge throughout the process.