King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) has appointed McLaren Construction as main contractor on its latest commercial and residential development at the 67-acre central London site.

Confirmation of the appointment comes just months after McLaren handed over the Luma residential building at Kings Cross.

The new R8 building will comprise two 13-storey blocks linked by a two-storey podium garden with landscaped roof gardens for users of both buildings.

To the east is a residential building of 72 apartments and the western block contains 170,000 sq ft of office space with retail on the ground floor.

KCCLP has entered into a management agreement with The Office Group, the premium flexible workspace provider, which will see them partner to create the largest – and the first purpose-built – design-led, flexible workspace in King’s Cross within these new buildings.

John Butten, Regional Managing Director for the Major Projects division at McLaren Construction, said: “McLaren’s projects at King’s Cross give a snapshot of the depth of capability in one of London’s largest regeneration projects since the 19th century.

“Following on from the high specification apartments in Luma we are now applying the same build quality to more homes, offices and retail.

“This must be one of the most visible regeneration projects in the UK. That makes our repeat work at King’s Cross an important showcase for our can-do culture and aim of always exceeding clients’ expectations.”

The new buildings’ design, by Piercy & Co, draws inspiration from industrial warehouses, with exposedinishes and spacious high ceilings.

It will be delivered by McLaren using fast modern construction methods, such as a unitised façade system on the commercial block. Lighting by 18 Degrees will also be

carefully integrated to avoid exterior lighting poles.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2024.

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The Crown Commercial Service has started the tender race for its ProCure23 and major project framework for public spending departments.

The fourth-generation ProCure23 element for the NHS will be split into three lots, while two other lots in the bundled tender will cover MoD airfield works and major construction projects valued at more than £80m.

The final major projects lot will account for the majority of total forecast spend over the 56-month lifetime of the frameworks at £20bn.

These last two lots are effectively a partial refresh and expansion of the Government’s Construction Works and Associated Services framework to provide extra market capacity and usher in principles in the Construction Playbook.

A webinar is planned for 4 October to launch the contest.

Framework lots

P23 value-based lots:

1. projects under £20m; split into seven regions (Value £3bn)

2. projects £20-£70; 8 places (£3bn)

3. projects over £70m+: 8 places (3bn)

Construction Works and Associated Services 2

4. Airfield Works – national lot; 6 places (£1bn)

5. General construction over £80m; 20 places (£20bn)

Building on past iterations, P23 is hoped to bring the latest best practice in construction methods to the NHS and focuses on delivering greener facilities, reducing carbon emissions and promoting social value.

The present P22 arrangement is shared by six firms: BAM, Galliford Try, Graham, Tilbury Douglas, Kier and Vinci/Sir Robert McAlpine joint venture IHP.

In its 19 year history, the ProCure framework has successfully delivered more than 1,200 projects across England, with a cumulative spend of £9.7bn, and ProCure23 will build this heritage into a third decade.

For more information click here.

Those interested in attending the webinar session please express your interest by emailing [email protected]

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Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has replaced BDP as architect of its £600m children and adults hospitals at the Leeds General infirmary site.

BDP was confirmed as preferred bidder for the scheme last month when initial designs were unveiled – but has now been replaced by a rival team.

The trust said: “Following a period of preferred bidder engagement the Trust has not been able to progress these discussions and in line with procurement best practice, started preferred bidder conversations with the Perkins & Will team, led by Penoyre & Prasad with Schmidt Hammer Lassen, who have now been appointed as the preferred bidder and will design the new hospitals in a once in a generation development opportunity for Leeds and the wider region.”

Simon Worthington, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Director of Finance and Senior Responsible Officer for the Hospitals of the Future Project, said: “We were unable to proceed with one of our tenderers but, in accordance with good procurement practice the right thing to do was to follow due process and this has resulted in the Perkins and Will team being appointed as the Trust’s Preferred Bidder to take forward this design opportunity.

“The competition process to appoint an architect was very strong with a number of international practices taking part which meant we received some exceptional concept designs.  The Perkins and Will concept design is very exciting and will create a fantastic landmark for the hospital and the city of Leeds and we are delighted to be working with them to create the new hospitals.”

Perkins & Will Managing Principal, Mark Rowe, said: “It’s obviously a huge privilege to be entrusted with the design of such a prominent site in one of the country’s most important cities.

“Working closely with the Trust, we believe we can deliver an outstanding building that not only supports exemplary clinical care and treatment but that over time can become as cherished a part of the Leeds cityscape as George Gilbert Scott’s exemplary original hospital.”

The Trust is planning to start construction in 2023, enabling it to align with the Government’s New Hospital Programme and benefit from the collaborative approach of working at scale, allowing it to share its experience with other less developed schemes, in areas such as digital technology, sustainability and modern methods of construction.

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