Two perfect Considerate Constructor scores for our Apollo stars
The now completed project for Apollo at Soho Place sees ISG’s UK fit out team reaching a major milestone achievement. Actually, two…
Working with leading alternative asset management firm, Apollo, ISG’s UK fit out team have delivered a perfect scoring Fitout at Soho Place in Tottenham Court Road.
The team achieved top marks with the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), scoring 45/45 for the project’s impact on its neighbours, local community, and the environment.
Project Director on the programme, Scott Knibb, says of the accreditation: “Our motivation was to provide a better environment for everything and everyone surrounding this project and I’m so proud of how the team pulled together to achieve this.”
How to achieve top marks? It’s a team effort!
Breaking new ground in delivering best practice on a building site, the team – young, socially aware, and ambitious – were passionate about embedding the culture of togetherness for everybody; both in and around the project.
Senior Construction Manager, Conor Bartlett, elaborates: “We all sought to lead by example and change the mindset around prioritising wellbeing and community investment at a grassroots level, and we celebrated the subcontractors who went out of their way to show their commitment to this.”
The project team celebrated said operatives through ‘Gold Cards’, awarded to those with the most commendable commitment to health and safety, sustainability, social value and wellbeing. Providing £250 worth of Amazon Vouchers as a reward in the project wide monthly engagement forums.
Hosting these meetings with ‘Gold Card’ winners to take forward ideas, such as one operative’s idea to introduce an e-bike charging stations and cool down zones on each floorplate, as ways of improving the site and factoring more voices into the decision making within the project’s overall delivery strategy.
The project team worked hard to ensure there was visibility of a job well done – rewarding winners and allowing all the operatives on site to take pride in the finished product, something that is not always achievable on jobs of this scale.
Through setting up monthly engagement forums at the adjacent 21Soho Comedy Club the team took to the stage to replay the progressive journey. They developed a fully animated model, a 3D game engine flythrough of what the finished project would look like and played it back to the workforce alongside live drone flights and progress photos for real time comparison.
Senior project manager, Oliver Day, states: “We’re aware that, for example, a temporary electrician working on a project site installing up temporary lighting will not get to see the finished result – we wanted to change that.” Playing this back to every operative on site has been, he says, “really rewarding to see their reaction in the knowledge they’re playing a part in something bigger.”
Apprentice construction manager on the project, Hollie Bennett, adds: “We respect the fact that this is a highly stressful industry, so the added time and effort from the teams into bettering the project and workplace for everybody did not go unnoticed.”
Hollie is just one of a team of early careers talent making a marked impact on site.
Invested in building a more diverse and skilled workforce for the future Project Apollo has seen the following achieved on site:
- 10 apprenticeship placements
- 3 graduate placements
- 57 hours dedicated to delivering career talks at schools, in partnership with Construction Youth Trust
- 4 work experience days for multiple young people in the local area
The structured training and development programmes, and experience opportunities, playing a huge role in the project’s overall scoring with the CCS.
Scoring well with community impact
As part of the team’s drive to promote mental stability amongst the challenges of working on a busy, live construction site, the project regularly sourced bulk food buy-ins and a favourite on site was ‘Pizza Days’ from the neighbouring Pizza Pilgrims, allowing for downtime and to support wellbeing onsite.
“This partnership was important to us because it gave us an opportunity, not only to bring some much-needed respite for our hard working team, but also to invest time and money into the local economy,” says Hollie. “We’re aware of the toll construction projects can take on communities, so it’s nice to be able to give something back to thank them for their patience and respect.”
And the drive to support the community doesn’t end there. A review of the project local labour spend showed that:
- 63% of labour was sourced locally
- 40.64% of procurement spend was on local businesses
Investing in the economic development of the surrounding community has seen jobs created for previously unemployed individuals, promoting better DEI and minimizing transportation emissions to support a healthier and greener environment.
“Not only have the ISG team dedicated their time to support our beloved home, they’ve gone the extra mile to raise important funds for our charity. We are thrilled to see how the team pulled together to achieve this – we’re so grateful for the support.”
Manuela Campbell, Corporate Partnerships Manager, The House of St Barnabas
Giving something back
The project site was also neighbouring local homelessness charity, The House of St Barnabas.
The charity’s Grade I listed building is rich with culture and history, but as with all heritage buildings it requires careful and expensive maintenance to operate efficiently.
Committed to supporting the charity to have the best facilitates to deliver all the services integral to their operations, the team provided the skilled resource and materials to restore elements of the weathering building.
Corporate Partnerships Manager Manuela Campbell says: “The ISG team clearly have a shared enthusiasm for our mission to break the cycle of homelessness. They brought the expert skills to honour our shared history and culture in Soho, and ultimately leave a positive impact in our community.”
In addition to this, the team raised an incredible £21,325 for The House of St Barnabas and ISG’s UK charity partner, Mental Health UK. Along with donating a portion of the funds to a local park renovation.
Manuela adds: “Not only have the team dedicated their time to support our beloved home, they’ve gone the extra mile to raise important funds for to support our charity. We are thrilled to see how the team pulled together to achieve this – we’re so grateful for the support.”
Quality and Completion
The project achieved Practical Completion in late May, celebrating a 10/10 Quality Score and 100% Absolute Completion – showcasing its detail in delivery across finish, functionality, and documentation that the team and supply chain have brought to fruition at Project Apollo. The final piece of the puzzle is the coveted BREEAM Outstanding certificate which the team expect to be awarded in the coming weeks.
Continuing best practice long after the project ends
The project may have been handed over, but the legacy is just beginning.
As a valued partner of The House of St Barnabas, the team have been invited to the charity’s graduation ceremony which celebrates participants who have completed the Employment Preparation Programme. Apollo now continues the partnership as a beneficiary, committed to hosting their future parties and events in the charity’s listed space.
The feedback from the Considerate Constructor review was glowing and included the comment from the moderator that it was “One of the best sites” she’d ever seen. “It creates a place for resilience and respect.”
Oliver concludes: “Culture is the word. It’s been wonderful to see apprentices on the project form tight bonds, and I know they’ll take this experience and its values with them. If we’re going to keep moving in terms of the ESG agenda, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing, we need to feed in from all different angles. And create a world where we can all be at our best.”
