Building 3 Civils and Landscaping

Client: University of Southampton

Value: £0.5m

Location: Southampton

Gentle Consulting was appointed as Project Manager and Principal Contractor to carry out the Civil and Landscaping project that would provide the link from the heart of the campus through to the brand new Life Sciences Building. The purpose of the project was to provide a seamless continuation of the Life Sciences Building landscaping through to the entrance to the historic Hartley Library. The designers' intentions were to provide open space pedestrian areas with informal seating areas. The scheme retains many of the existing trees which gives a maturity to the new gardens. The area boasts what is thought to be the largest specimen of "Cunninghamia" (Chinese fur) in Europe which sits comfortably in its new surroundings.

The project was made particularly complex by the high density of existing services which routed through the construction area. These services included high and low voltage cabling leading from the transformer sub-station which was removed as part of the project to working around the University's district heating system. The site levels also provided challenges for both the designers and contractors, but ultimately made for great design.