Grŵp Llandrillo Menai appointed North Wales-based Read Construction to carry out the works on the new Coleg Menai Bangor Campus, which is situated on Parc Menai in Bangor, with teaching at the campus due to take place from September 2024.

Read Construction appointed Athertons as a main contractor to deliver the full refurbishment.

Summary:

The project, backed with £14 million from the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, will relocate Coleg Menai’s current provision from the Ffriddoedd Road and Friars site. The new Bangor campus – which will be within very close proximity to the long-established Art department already situated on Parc Menai – will be the new home for ten vocational areas:

Hair and Beauty, Hospitality and Catering, Business, Travel and Tourism, Performing Arts, Music, Media (TV and Games Development), Access to Higher Education, Adult Community Learning, and English for Speakers Other Languages. Included within the facility will be cutting-edge, industry-level facilities, ranging from a professional training kitchen, an Apple Mac suite, and a modern LibraryPlus space.

Hair & beauty salons and nail bars run by learners will be open to the public, as well as a 180-seat performance studio which will be utilised by the Performing Arts department for theatre performance and live shows. Members of the public will also be able to dine in the on-site training restaurant during the week. Learners and staff will also benefit from a large, open-plan refectory and coffee bar, and there will be a large Learner Services presence offering careers guidance, confidential support and wellbeing activities to students.

The exciting development will also be certified Net-Zero Carbon and BREEAM excellent, through the installation of solar panels, air source heat pumps and LED lighting.

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai is also working with the Welsh Government’s Active Travel department to develop sustainable transport links to the site, through the creation of cycle routes.

Dafydd Evans, Chief Executive of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, said,  “This new exciting campus serves as an innovative opportunity to have cross-departmental teaching, which will enhance the learner experience. We also hope that the facility will strengthen links with industry partners, through utilising the space to hold masterclasses and showcases. We would like to thank the Welsh Government for their continued support and for the generous funding package we have received for this project”.

Aled Jones-Griffith, Principal of Coleg Menai and Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, said, “I’m looking forward to giving current and prospective students the opportunity to walk around the new campus. We are already working with schools in the area as part of the 14-19 provision, and we are eager to develop that partnership even further – now we have modern facilities across all sites”.

Alex Read, Director of Read Construction, said, “We are proud to be working with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai to deliver their latest net zero scheme at Tŷ Menai. As a proud North Wales based company, we are committed to reinvesting the Welsh pound through the engagement of local companies, and employment of local people on this prestigious scheme.”

Background of the project

The project involved refurbishing a large, two-story building, approximately 20 years old, primarily used as office space and meeting rooms. The building features a steel frame, concrete floors, a steel roof, and a raised access floor on the first floor for service routing. An adjacent smaller annex building, intended for the maintenance division, was also fully refurbished.

The refurbishment included a complete upgrade of all lighting, power, fire alarm, security, CCTV, electric vehicle charging, sound and lighting systems, and data infrastructure. The new lighting system is entirely LED. The existing main distribution system was retained and modified, with the UPS section and battery backups removed to accommodate new distribution cabling. Additionally, a new photovoltaic (PV) system with a maximum export limit of 200KW was installed. A 160A external feeder pillar was also installed to serve three double electric vehicle chargers.

Mechanically, the refurbishment consisted of Ventilation, Air conditioning, VT & CT Gas Heating, Domestic water services and Sprinkler systems to the new build consisting of teaching spaces. The AC consisted of VRF systems providing heating and cooling throughout majority of the areas, and DX coils were installed along with AHUs. The AHUs were located within the plant room and compounds across the scheme and the MVHR units were installed in the ceiling void, local to the areas they were serving. The toilet areas were also equipped with individual extract fans controlled via PIR. Moreover, the domestic water system consisted of new booster tank and pump set which allowed the cold water main feed to be distributed throughout the building via service voids.

Challenges and Solutions

Due to the extent and location of the project, multiple obstacles were encountered and resolved. These required critical thinking, re-design, risk management and continuous change management.

The project faced several key challenges. Firstly, as it involved refurbishing an existing building with reused main containment and distribution systems, the full scope of work only became clear during demolition. This necessitated extensive relocation of original cabling to fit the new layout. Secondly, insufficient information  during the tender stage created significant hurdles, including missing cable and lighting calculations and incomplete drawings. This led to unexpected changes such as installing nine mechanical distribution boards instead of the planned 2, with 5 of these rated at 250A, requiring substantial adjustments. The complexity and the extensive of the project included managing over 200 client-initiated changes, ranging from minor adjustments to major redesigns of systems like the PV and external lighting, added complexity and adaptation throughout. The multi-disciplinary team based on-site worked closely with Read Construction to deliver the expected outcomes.

Throughout the project, numerous challenges were successfully addressed by continuously updating and revising working drawings. A significant aspect involved a complete redesign of the PV system, originally planned as both field-mounted and roof-mounted. The final design focused on maximising roof space to optimise energy generation. Additionally, due to the absence of initial lighting calculations, Signify (Phillips) were approached to verify the adequacy of the original lighting design. This review revealed a need for approximately 400 additional light fittings to ensure project requirements were met effectively.

Another challenge included ensuring our services such as ventilation, pipework, electrical cabling and air conditioning were compliant with the fire and compartment strategy regulations of the existing layout building. To make the fire and compartments strategy compliant with regulations was particularly complex, due to the existing building layout. Various methods had to be explored when passing our services through, or to make our services complement one another like vent, pipework, electrical cabling and air conditioning. External fire wall consultants and architects were commissioned to bring additional consultancy. Additional measures were introduced to achieve approved fire safety standards: adding additional and bespoke bracketry systems to ensure compliance with manufacturer’s instructions. Making bespoke plates to support fire dampers within fire curtains. Installing fire rated ductwork from kitchen areas through compartments and risers.

Further challenges involved the included of the ventilation kits at the tender stage, which were intended to be retained but once the project commenced they were checked over and found to be insufficient for use. Others issues faced were extensive faults on existing taps and leaks on all plumbing systems, which needed redesign and replacement.

A complete lack of phone signal in the area attributable to the remote location of the project, added to the complexity making it difficult to communicate between parts of the business and supply chain both on site and in the office. To counteract this and to avoid mis-communication between the different parts of the business and supply chain both on site and in the office, multiple measures were introduced. A temporary walkie-talkie system for effortless communication was introduced. More weekly site visits were introduced from an early stage, to facilitate smooth multi-disciplinary delivery as a one-stop-shop main contractor. A new high speed Wi-Fi system specific to Athertons was introduced and the supply chain was notified of specific delivery instruction and route to ensure deliveries arrived on time. A bespoke office was built with a whole suite of printing services, laptops, Wi-Fi installations and other technical solutions to manage this complex and diverse build.

Despite encountering various challenges, the exemplary service provided by Athertons has solidified our status as industry leaders, ensuring continued commitment in exceeding customer satisfaction whilst delivering complex technical solutions.