Project and Cost Managers on the Library of Birmingham

What did we do

We were appointed as Project and Cost Managers on the new Library of Birmingham and The REP Theatre transformation project in December 2007.

From appointment the team worked closely with the Council to develop a comprehensive understanding of the complex requirements and expectations for the new library. This included engagement with all key stakeholders involved in the project, from librarians and archivists through to Council departments,
community groups and library users.

It was established early on that the key to the success of the project would be the selection of the right team, a view shared with the Council and an ethos that ran through the project and strongly influenced processes used to select the design team and contractors.

Solution

In our role as Project Manager/Employers Agent we successfully managed the following issues:

• Establishment of all project governance and communication processes
• Working closely with a non-technical client to establish the project brief
• Completion of an international design competition in order to select external consultants
• Procurement of a contractor partner via a two stage tendering process using a bespoke NEC Form of Contract
• Procurement of a specialist relocation contractor
• Management of multiple client work streams including energy & sustainability, transformation, IT, facilities management, commercial opportunities, integration, transition, etc

In addition to the above and possibly one of the most important elements of our role was to support the client with developing and translating their ideas and aspirations /expectations in to a brief that the project designers, contractors, and client facilities management team could efficiently respond to. Furthermore we were able to sit in the middle of the design and construction process to support the client, stake holders and project delivery teams in ensuring there was mutual empathy and appreciation of their differing roles and responsibilities, ensuring that the successful delivery of the client’s business is a common goal.