Silver

Terry Hughes I Project manager, Laing O’Rourke I Leeds Grand Theatre: refurbishment of Grade II-listed theatre and construction of rehearsal rooms, completed in 59 weeks I £15m I JCT 1998 Local Authority, with quantities

Terry Hughes put in a bravura performance on this project by buying into an 11-year dream of bringing this famous theatre up to date for modern audiences.

For the scheme’s many stakeholders, the long-awaited refurb was a labour of love, and Hughes showed them that he and his team shared their aspirations.

Hughes took total control of the tough technical challenges, including raising the height of the fly tower (where scenery and stage rigging is stored) from 36m to 42m above the stage, installing an orchestra lift with floating seating wagons, and building a lorry lift to raise articulated vehicles 6m to stage level.

Hughes needed every bit of a lifetime’s experience in construction he started out as a bricklayer in 1965 to master this complex project. His expertise gave him the know-how to realise he could replace the proposed temporary works solution for raising the fly tower with one that reduced by a month the time required for installing and dismantling the temporary structure, saving the client £400,000.

With a challenging programme to refurbish this complex building, he made the right-first-time principle a rule for design. There was simply no time for discovering incomplete design information mid-job, so drawings were checked, issues raised and information fed back to the design team and subcontractors immediately. Likewise, going back to snag the building prior to handover wasn’t a realistic scenario, so he instituted a rigorous quality inspection regime.

As the construction face of the theatre’s transformation, Hughes handled the huge media and public interest in the project with aplomb. Despite fears that the project was mission impossible, he delivered brilliantly on every front and Laing O’Rourke has now been awarded the contract for phase II of the project.

Highly Commended


  • Tom Hobson (Urban Splash Build) for Silk Warehouse, Lister Mills, Bradford
  • Richard Jones MCIOB (Willmott Dixon Construction) for Cantref School, Abergavenny
  • Julius Kenyi MCIOB (Trant Construction) for Hangar 1205, RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire
  • Tony Shenton MCIOB (Wates Construction) for Birmingham Town Hall

Source

Construction Manager