Theatre Square & NW2 Pavilion
Project Overview
Project: New Arts, Culture & Participation Pavilion & Outside Space
Client: Charter House Investments
Contract value: £1.5m
This development, a public/private partnership scheme, is the first phase a of project to regenerate Westgate, a run down urban area next to the inner ring road in Ipswich. The new arts and culture participation space is operated by the adjacent The New Wolsey Theatre and sits in a re-developed public area, Theatre Square, which provides an exciting outdoor performance space.
Daniel Connal Partnership was appointed Principal Designer and Quantity Surveyor on the scheme.
Theatre Square & NW2 Pavilion, Ipswich
Key Challenges:
- Working above a sub-terranean spiral multi-storey car park which presented structural challenges
- Working within a constrained site, adjacent to the town’s inner ring road
- Proximity of public to work site
- Covid 19 – safe working practices
We worked closely and proactively with the whole team during the design phase of the project to tackle these challenges. To address loading issues on the underground car park, the pavilion had been designed as a lightweight timber structure. However, this did not take into account live loading, eg plant and equipment, present during the construction phase. Having highlighted this potential issue, we acted quickly to obtained the as built drawings of the car park, and were able to confirm that the maximum structural load of the top deck of the car park was sufficient to support construction activity.
Prompt issue of the Pre Construction Information to the Contractor drew their attention to the risks that they would be assuming on site, which included the requirement to maintain the safety of the general public during the period of the build.
During the course of the project the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. We undertook close review of the RAMS (Risk Assessment Method Statements) to ensure Covid-19 compliance and ensured the contractor was meeting best practice by following the Construction Leadership Council Construction Sector-Site Operating Procedures Protecting Your Workforce During Coronavirus (Covid-19).
Following successful completion, we were delighted when the Theatre Square Pavilion Ipswich project won a number of prestigious awards, including the RIBA East Award 2022 and RIBA East Client of the Year Award 2022, and the Best use of Arts, Culture or Sport in Placemaking award at the Planning Awards 2021.