Sheffield Hallam has appointed BDP–Arup, BAM and CBRE to form the ‘Hallam Alliance’, a new procurement and delivery model to inspire change in the construction industry
The initial project for the Hallam Alliance will be the delivery of the first phase of the university’s campus plan – with work due to start this month on renovations to the atrium of the university’s Owen Building.
Partners will work collaboratively through all stages of design, construction and operation to maximise transformation and deliver best long-term value. Mace and Fulcrum are providing scheme and programme management services.
The delivery model provides an opportunity to reform the way major projects are created and designed. The collaborative and cohesive mind-set in construction procurement and delivery is designed to better deliver well-designed, well-built and well-managed buildings.
Importantly, the partnership will share profits and losses so that its incentives to work efficiently are aligned from the outset and throughout the delivery of the schemes.
NEC4 alliance contract
As part of its ‘Transforming Lives’ strategy to become the world’s leading applied university, the Hallam Alliance is one of the first adopters of the new NEC4 alliance contract.
The alliance will operate under a clear governance structure (missing from most traditional delivery methods), with formal cooperative boards which require unanimous agreement, making decisions on issues on a “best for project” basis.
Daniel Ladbury, director of estates and facilities at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The agreement of the Alliance contract marks the culmination of over two years of hard work the university has led on to challenge the industry to deliver better buildings.
“The Hallam Alliance provides a unique opportunity as we look to the future in these challenging times to create a high performing and efficient estate that provides fantastic places for students, staff and visitors to learn, collaborate, and innovate whilst enabling us to continually learn and improve.
“The university has ambitious goals for its campus developments as they support the delivery of our Transforming Lives strategy. To support this, the Hallam Alliance approach will not only enable the transformation of our estate, it will also transform how we deliver and manage our estate and our vision to drive industry change whilst driving efficiency and best practice.”
Ladbury added: “The Hallam Alliance provides a unique opportunity to bring academia, professional services and industry together to solve the current and future challenges currently facing universities, the commercial sector and the construction industry and we look forward to realising a new benchmark for successful developments over the coming years.”
Sheffield Hallam’s campus plan
Sheffield Hallam University’s campus plan sets out a 20-year development framework for the Sheffield Hallam estate.
The first phase could see £220m invested over the next five years and will focus on the university’s city centre estate and create a new gateway to the city, transforming the campus and supporting the wider ongoing development of the city of Sheffield.
It will see the creation of a destination state-of-the art, sustainable campus featuring new buildings and green spaces between Sheffield Station and Arundel Gate. It includes new buildings with teaching facilities and staff workplaces for the Sheffield Business School (SBS) and Social Sciences which will be surrounded byvibrant and inviting outdoor spaces to benefit health and wellbeing.
It will provide a forum for civic engagement, collective congregation and social interactions at all levels benefitting students, staff, industry partners and residents of and visitors to the City of Sheffield.
Transform the way the construction industry operates
Sue Emms, architect principal at BDP, commented: “This project has the ability to transform how the University operates and, as pioneers of new ways of procuring buildings, transform the way the construction industry operates.
“It will transform the city, support skills, employability and the regeneration of the Sheffield City Region. As a Sheffield-based design business, these are all outcomes that we are extremely passionate about.
“The alliance approach will encourage a shared ethos of partnership, collaboration and innovation to bring about more effective and efficient developments. It will produce a unique environment for applied learning and research, adding value to create better, sustainable and efficient buildings.”
Paul Cleminson, construction director at BAM, said: “This new approach will make it easier to deliver the high quality, affordable and sustainable buildings that we all want. That’s why The Hallam Alliance will be a beacon for improvement for the region and the entire industry.
“This new type of framework means the clients, designers, construction contractors and FM providers all have the same goals and objectives, with benefits such as transparent open book costs approach, and improved risk management. This builds mutual trust which will then the drive efficiencies, standardisation and continuous improvement that we are all seeking.
“This is a very exciting time for us all. We are all incentivised to work together to create valuable apprenticeships and work placements and provide many opportunities for students to have real local work-based learning.
“The Alliance will also prioritise using the local supply chain, which will boost businesses in the Sheffield City Region and help grow the local economy.”
Daniel Vaughan, director at CBRE, added: “Having FM services involved from the outset provides the opportunity for operational and user needs to shape design and construction helping to ensure smoother handover of buildings, improved quality and performance and the reduction of in-use costs and user issues, creating the best possible user experience.”
