Franklin + Andrews on a high

The firm is boasting 33 projects for the year to date, compared to 16 in September. Lower down the tables less well-known names are making an impact and we investigate one of them below.

• (9) AYH could be in line to repeat its Arsenal stadium magic in London’s Olympic park. The firm project managed the successful north London scheme alongside Sir Robert McAlpine and Hok, whose consortium was last week selected as preferred – and apparently only qualifying – bidder to build and design the 2012 stadium. The stadium looks set to have an innovative “fold away” structure that will allow it to shrink from an 80,000 to 20,000.

• (11) Bucknall Austin last week announced it is to cost manage a new £8.5m academic block at Thames Valley University in Reading. The firm won the commission via the OJEU process on the strength of its credentials in higher and further education with current schemes including Reading University, Manchester University and Leeds Metropolitan University. The block will total 6,000 m² over four or five floors on the east side of the Kings.

• (17) Doig & Smith was celebrating reaching financial close on a hospital scheme in Glasgow this week. The firm is QS on the New Victoria Hospital, which will cost around £100m and start on site in December. HLM Architects came up with the concept of a “hospital in the park” for the building. The idea is to locate the facility in a landscape setting for the therapeutic benefit of patients and staff. The 41,500 m2 building is to be fully operational by 2009. It is being built by a consortium led by the Canmore Partnership and Balfour Beatty Construction. The PFI scheme is part of a £200m scheme to replace.