Trinity Secondary School, Sevenoaks, Kent
CLIENT ADVISER
Sarah Williams
2013 – 2017
CLIENT
Trinity Trust
LEAD ARCHITECT
Bond Bryan
SERVICES PROVIDED
– Site selection and assessment
– Creation of schedule of accommodation and adjacency diagrams
– Input into feasibility studies
– Procurement and risk input
– Liaison with DfE
– Design review at all stages
– Input into stakeholder presentations
– Contractor procurement
– Compliance and quality assurance with all guidance, regs, best practice
– Advice and support post construction on expansion plans
Challenges
Why was a Client Adviser required?
This project was a new four-form entry, free school to be developed in the Sevenoaks greenbelt and initially requiring a temporary home whilst a permanent building was being constructed. As there was no site or brief for either project, a Client Adviser was required to help shape the brief and review proposed sites to ensure that the schemes would work in both circumstances (i.e. the temporary and new build sites) and to advise and support the client through the process. There were particular challenges with the greenbelt setting.
Once both the temporary and long-term sites were selected, client adviser services were further required to ensure that the existing temporary building was appropriate for the school's accommodation requirements and that the developing designs by the contractor for the new building would be appropriate in terms of size, distribution, quality and other important qualitative and quantitative factors in order to meet all their requirements. The client adviser was retained from pre-commencement to post occupation and expansion proposals.
Outcomes
What value was created
The client, a new free school, did not have experience of developing a new school and so Sarah acted as the expert client ensuring that all the facilities were of the necessary quality and quantity for the needs of the school and the developing curriculum. Sarah worked very closely with the governors and head at all stages of the project providing impartial and independent advice on all design matters. This included site selection, brief writing, creating a schedule of accommodation, feasibility input, design evaluation, risk review and mitigation, advice on best practice, output specifications and guidance and assurance on all relevant matters.
Initially, she was able to advise the client about the renovations of an existing office building to create a new temporary school whilst designs progressed on the new school. This involved ensuring building compliance with the initial brief in terms of areas, adjacencies and health and safety. External space was also critical and ensuring sufficient monies were received in order to create a workable school. This building needed to accommodate up to three year groups
For the second stage of the project developing the new building, Sarah ensured that all designs were as high quality as they could be within the project and budgetary constraints and that designs were compliant with all the numerous building regulations and specific requirements and specifications of the DfE. This involved working closely with the architects, contractor and client teams of both the school and Kent County Council, who were responsible for procuring the new building. Continuing evaluation and review of all proposals included building design, room layouts, area data sheets, Furniture, fittings and equipment, engineering proposals and all integrated facets of the project.
Sarah advised at all engagement meetings enabling speedy decisions based on robust information and advice. The programme was very challenging and so an expert client was critical to achieving success. A high quality new building was completed on greenbelt land in 2016
Testimonial
“We employed Sarah Williams as a Client Advisor to help us in dealing with design issues for both temporary and permanent sites for our new Free School. We found her to be experienced, creative, pragmatic and very committed to helping us to achieve our objectives.”
Education Projects
