Executing the highest standard of quality finishes and prioritising energy efficiency and low carbon design earned Moss Construction a CEF Excellence Award in 2022 for its community hall project at Waringstown Presbyterian Church.
Awarding it with the General Construction Project of the Year Above £1m accolade, judges were impressed with the well-executed detailing particularly in relation to feature brickwork.
Heated and cooled by air source heat pumps operating in conjunction with PV panels and heat recovery on the mechanical ventilation, the 1,300m2 building attained an EPC A rating – highly unusual for a scheme of this size. The electrical installation included LED strip lighting, extensive AV installation and a new passenger lift.
The two-storey building was constructed using a steel frame on trench-filled foundations with facing brick external walls, curtain walling and a PVC flat roof.
The brickwork on the south elevation, which caught the judges’ attention features protruding bricks, pre-cut and laid in columns of alternating heights.
“We were delighted to receive our second CEF Excellence Award for the work we carried out for Waringstown Presbyterian Church,” said Martin McIntyre, Senior QS for Moss Construction (NI) Ltd.
“The client asked us to deliver a new facility to accommodate its growing congregation and which could also be utilised by the local community. To this end, we provided creche facilities, a multi-purpose sports hall, a youth area, catering facilities, toilets, offices and meeting rooms.”
The job was tendered in January 2020, with an original start date of March that year, postponed until February 2021 following the initial Covid-19 lockdown.
“During lockdown it became apparent that there were issues with lead times in relation to certain materials, most notably facing bricks and timber,” said Martin. “We highlighted this prior to commencement and built brick sample panels at a very early stage. Once the brick was chosen the order was placed immediately, ensuring they were delivered in good time.
The steel frame was originally specified as having intumescent paint factory applied. “As the frame was required at an early stage, we identified a potential delay due to more time being required after fabrication to apply the paint prior to delivery,” said Martin. “There was also a risk that the paint could be damaged during the erection process. We held discussions with the design team and agreed that the intumescent paint would be applied on site after the steel was erected. This allowed the frame to be delivered earlier, eliminating a risk to the programme and it protected the quality of the finished surfaces.
Construction was carried out in a ‘live’ environment which required close liaison between the site manager, Kevin Dougan and the client’s facility manager, Brian Taylor. “We introduced a one-way system to keep construction traffic away from the congregation traffic and agreed down times for specific church occasions such as funerals.”
The client was full of praise for the consideration and dedication directed to the project, stating, “Throughout the entire project we found Moss Construction to take a proactive approach in relation to identifying and solving issues, many of which arose due to the pandemic. They were very aware of our end needs and mindful that we were working to a budget.
“Our requests for meetings, proposals and quotations were always accommodated in a timely and professional manner.”
Commenting on the completed project, Martin said, “It was one of those jobs that rarely comes around, where the design team, client and contractor all get along really well. It really was a pleasure to work on from start to finish.”
For the full feature on Waringstown Presbyterian Church Hall, check out Northern Builder Issue 34-1 Feb-Mar here.
