BOB matrics recently organised a visit to a unique construction project at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, near Didcot in Oxfordshire.

‘Target Station 2’ is a £150 million scheme to provide a state of the art scientific research facility, the most expensive government funded construction project ever!

It was immediately apparent that this was no ordinary construction project, the works started by moving 750,000 tonnes of chalk and continued on a massive scale with around 23,000 tonnes of steelwork and 10,000 tonnes of concrete going into the new building!

Jonathan Carkeet, the project manager responsible for the scheme (and vice chairman of BOB) gave a presentation outlining the project and explaining how the works had been procured, contract choice and how costs have been controlled throughout the project.

From the outset many different disciplines of surveyors have been involved and their continued involvement has helped to keep the project on time and on budget. For a scheme of this size this is exceptional, especially as the design is continuously evolving as science moves forward!

On behalf of BOB, and all those who attended we would like to thank Jonathan and those at Rutherford who made the visit possible.

The BOB Committee.