Where once the nuns of St Bartholomew’s tended their strawberry fields to make strawberry wine, a unique, six-storey office building now stands. Drawing on history for its name, One Strawberry Lane was an extraordinarily challenging project. Started and completed during unprecedented trading conditions.
Stakeholders are very proud of the project, here’s why:
- Unique Architecture: One Strawberry Lane maximises the potential of a tight, inner-city site in the style of a multifaceted ‘townhouse’, mediating between the residential scale of Leazes Conservation Area and the Commercialised City centre. Its uniquely patterned projecting brickwork provides maximum standout without detracting from its historic surroundings.
- Improving Local Lives: the project achieved a social value return of 44%- three times more than the current industry standard, £16million (77% of budget) was spent with the local supply chain, 400 apprenticeship weeks were delivered to lift local skills and bring 31 unemployed people into work and a community fund was established alongside local charitable organisations, investing over £150k in seven different community projects to create lasting improvements for local lives.
- Significant and Complex Engineering Challenges: Founding a five-storey building directly alongside the Metro tunnel with piled foundations passing only 3.8m from the metro tunnel left no room for error. With the stringent approval of Nexus, complex structural arrangements were created within the building’s frame to ensure loading to the metro alignment was limited. Specialist engineering and working techniques were utilised to ensure the buildings deep basement could be provided without compromising neighbouring buildings.
- Multi-stakeholder Collaboration: High levels of risk were overcome during difficult and uncertain trading times with the effective collaboration of multiple stakeholders. The vision of One Strawberry would not have been delivered without the cooperation of all involved.
- Industry Sharing: The experience, challenges and best practice were shared with the community and professional firms by posting regularly on social media, organising several G4C & CENE member visits and providing a lecture at Northumbria University to share learning.
Three Winning Facts:
- Successful delivery of this bespoke project overcoming significant underground & overground technical challenges
- Construction Excellence achieved with the maximisation of smart digital technology and innovative sustainable approaches to traditional methods of construction.
- Exemplary Social, Local & Economic Value of 44% delivered, improving the lives and skills of local communities and helping promote key Construction Playbook and gold standard objectives.
