Havering College

Havering College's Ardleigh Green Road Campus required a new temporary building to replace G Block ahead of a planned redevelopment of the whole campus. The new building needed to provide accommodation for the Estates department, ancillary buildings and adds a much needed Higher Education centre. The 840 square metre building was built using Terrapin’s Unitrex, and the College specified the design to better match with the surrounding buildings than the original structures.

There was a limited amount of time available for the build as the new temporary building needed to be up and running by mid September 2010 to avoid disruption to students and staff. Terrapin’s offsite fabrication using Unitrex allows structures to be assembled in a short time during holidays, and this is why the college recognised them as the right company for the project: “There are a number of off site construction techniques, the best one on the market is arguably the Terrapin range of buildings which is the chosen method of construction for the building in this application. Terrapin respond quickly to deliver all the style and quality of a permanent building."

Terrapin implements a number of environmental policies and procedures to prevent pollution and to minimise the harmful effect of their actions wherever possible. Due to Terrapin’s sustainable practices, 92.36% of waste produced in constructing the temporary building at Havering Campus was able to be recycled, meaning just 7.64% was sent to landfill.

To achieve such a high percentage of recycled waste, Terrapin ensured the effective management of:

· Sustainably sourced raw materials;
· Reduction of the consumption of non-renewable sources;
· Efficient use of materials and equipment in product and construction processes;
· Waste and discharges to ensure that waste is minimised, recycled and re-used where possible, or disposed of in a responsible manner;
· Maintenance of site, buildings and employee environmental training.

Calvin Elder, Interim Facilities Supervisor of the Estates Department at Havering sent the following letter regarding the college’s satisfaction of Terrapin’s work, and in particular, Site Supervisor, Richard Furzer: “In today’s world it is a refreshing change to meet someone as hardworking, diligent and professional as Richard. His ability to motivate without being bullish or bombastic is praiseworthy. He is quite passionate about his work, and manages to instil this concept in his subordinates, whether they be skilled, unskilled, direct employees or sub-contractors with consequential first class results.

“His site was always safe and tidy, irrespective of the processes in train, with all involved being made constantly aware of their responsibilities from a quality and safety aspect, both to themselves and others. “He is eminently approachable and communicates effectively at all levels, and resolved all situations he was confronted with easily and efficiently. He has the unique ability to never encounter “problems”; to him they appear only as opportunities to present solutions. “The whole practical side of the project, from a client perspective, has been a complete success, due in no small part to Richard. He is a total credit to your company.”