Construction Method Statement for the new

WELCOME BUILDING
at the
City of Bath College

City Of Bath College

Welcome Building
Construction Method Statement
INTRODUCTION
Cowlin have been awarded the contract for the Welcome Building, City of Bath College, a
prestigious project in the Centre of Bath, at the corner of Avon Street and James Street West. The
project will start in March 2011 and is due to be completed in October 2011.
The purpose of this Construction Method Statement is to demonstrate our intended method of
carrying out this task under close consideration of all relevant aspects, i.e. adjoining public
footpaths, traffic flow for both Avon Street and James Street West and a live College environment.
Upon Cowlin starting on site, we will take over an existing site compound from the Enabling Works
Contractor (Emery Bros), who will have demolished the existing Kings building. The crushed
material from the demolition works will be used for the piling mat to reduce the amount of stone
that has to be imported to site. Key operations for the superstructure of the project will be PILING,
GROUNDWORKS, STEELFRAME, COMPOSITE CONCRETE SLABS AND BLOCKWORK.

Site Set Up
The extent of the site compound will be as shown on APPENDIX 1. Full protective hoardings and
screens will be put in place to the full perimeter of the site.
We have been granted permission by Highways to extend the site compound along James Street
West to the demarcation of old and new paving slabs, leaving app. 2m of footpath open. However,
at present we do not envisage utilizing this area, other than for the Entrance gate. Should this area
be required at a later stage we will liaise with both, Highways and the Tree Officer before
extending the compound. We do understand the importance of protection to the Willow Tree at
the corner of Avon Street / James Street West and will therefore arrange any access and egress in
a way to ensure that the 2No gullies that are feeding the Willow Tree remain unobstructed and
that no potential damage or contamination can occur.

Access / Egress
Following discussions with the BANES Highways supervisor we will set up 2No main delivery
entrances as described below.
During the superstructure works the main entrance will be via Avon Street, where we intend to
utilize the current footpath as a lay by for deliveries. This lay by will be equipped with 2No gates
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City Of Bath College

Welcome Building
Construction Method Statement
that will allow driving in and out with the flow of traffic to ensure the continuation of the oneway-bus-route in Avon Street. To achieve the above we will remove the existing bollards and ramp
down the kerbstones as necessary. Furthermore we will establish a second site entrance in James
Street West, which will be the main access and egress point for the second part of the project.

Deliveries
The main delivery to and from site will be Lower Bristol Road A36 and the 2No afore mentioned
entrances in Avon Street and James Street West (APPENDIX2).
Whilst we cannot completely eliminate the use of articulated lorries during the superstructure
phase, we will encourage all suppliers and subcontractors to use smaller delivery vehicles to
reduce the need for extensive manoeuvring in and around site. In addition we will endeavour to
time major deliveries either before or after the peak of rush hour traffic.
We fully accept the priority for buses in Avon Street and for pedestrians on the footpath of James
Street West. All vehicles entering or leaving site will therefore be supervised by a banksman /
traffic warden.
Frequent visits of a Road-sweeper will ensure that footpaths and roads are kept clean throughout
the project.

Contractors Parking
There will be no subcontractor parking on site or on the City of Bath College property. All
subcontractors will have to park in public car park or pay and display areas. We will include this
condition in all our subcontracts and encourage public transport and/or shared transport to and
from site.
The lay-by in Avon Street will be used as an offloading area for small items and tools during the fitout-stage of the building. We will assist our contractors by giving them the opportunity of setting
up small lockable containers on site for safe storage overnight.

Demolition & Enabling Works

This is not part of Cowlins scope of works and will be carried out by Ohters.
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City Of Bath College

Welcome Building
Construction Method Statement

Piling
We propose to carry out the piling in 2 stages. Starting at the lower level along Avon Street and
then providing a higher piling mat with battered edge to overcome the level difference of app.
1200mm. The piling mat will be designed by our Piling contractor and checked and approved by
our temporary works department. All Piling will be carried out in accordance with the Avon Act.
On completion, the piling mat will remain in place and will be trimmed appropriately to form the
working platform to carry out the ground works, drainage and ultimately the ground floor slab (NB
the ground floor slab is designed as being suspended and therefore does not rely upon the
substrate for support).

Ground works
The ground beams will be constructed by site excavation through the fill material and then
Pecafill permanent shutters placed as necessary to minimise the amount of concrete required.
Similarly, the drainage and various service ducts will be excavated through the site fill and
positioned prior to final trimming of the stone to form the ground floor slab. The drainage design
will be developed in conjunction with Wessex Water to provide any necessary attenuation storage
in the area defined by gridlines C, E, 1 & 2.

Frame
Upon completion of the pilecaps and groundbeams the steelframe will be delivered to site. The
erection sequence will be established based on stability criteria. The frame construction would be
facilitated by use of a self erecting tower crane positioned on the East side of the building
footprint. The various deliveries of the steel frame, the composite decking sheets, reinforcements
and the ready-mix concrete, will be via Avon Street and off loaded and positioned by use of the
crane.

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City Of Bath College

Welcome Building
Construction Method Statement
Cladding & Roofing
The various specification cladding elements on the building (Masonry, render, curtain walling, Zinc
etc) will be undertaken by use of a traditional full height independent scaffold to the perimeter of
the building.
The materials for inner leaf and internal wall construction will be distributed by forklift from the
small storage area to the East of the building footprint. Because of the limitations on size of
storage area the materials will be procured and delivered on a just in time basis.
Similarly, roofing materials will be loaded to the roof by use of the telescopic forklift. Loading bays
will be constructed at each floor level.
The vertical Brise Soleil to the Western Avon street elevation will be installed by use of
powered access equipment after the scaffold has been dismantled.

Liason / Communication
Throughout the project Cowlin will maintain a high level of liaison and communication to all
relevant parties to ensure that the project can be delivered with the least amount of disruption to
neighbouring buildings and the public in general. Our Site Manager Stefan Thiel is looking forward
to this project and will be happy to discuss any issues that may arise during the construction. We
will issue contact details for the site compound immediately after completion of the set up.

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City Of Bath College

Welcome Building
Construction Method Statement
APPENDIX 1:

SITE COMPOUND PLAN

Deliveries through
Avon Street

City of Bath College

Welcome Building

Access & Egress for

Vehicles During Super
structure Works

Existing College
Blue shaded area
not part of inital
set up but may
be used later for
egress gate

Access & Egress for Vehicles Works.

Pavement Priority to Pedestrians

Pedestrian
Entrance

Contractors
Compound
Site Boundary
Hoarding

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City Of Bath College

Welcome Building
Construction Method Statement
APPENDIX 2:

City Of Bath College Welcome Building

Proposed Delivery Routes

Site
Delivery Access
Delivery Egress

Avon Street
St Jamess Parade

Lower Bristol Road A36

A 367

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