For exceptional delivery of the Quality Improvement and Innovation Centre at Newtownards Hospital, William Rogers Construction Ltd has been shortlisted for a prestigious CEF Excellence Award. Building Ireland spoke to Contracts Director Damien Rogers to find out more about this industry-leading, second-generation family business.
Inspired by the past and building in the present for future generations, William Rogers Construction Ltd (WRC) has been delivering construction excellence to both the public and private sectors across Northern Ireland for coming up on half a century.
The company’s status as one of the province’s premier building contracting firms was underlined when they were shortlisted for an award at this year’s Construction Employers Federation (CEF) Excellence Awards – a gala event in Northern Ireland’s construction calendar which will take place on Thursday, October 5th.
WRC have been shortlisted in the ‘Social / Community Construction Project of the Year, Below £2.5m’ category for their outstanding £1.6m extension and refurbishment of the Quality Improvement and Innovation Centre facility at Newtownards Hospital, which provides the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust with a state-of –the-art innovation and creative thinking hub for staff.
“We’re very happy and proud to have been shortlisted for a CEF award,” confirms Contracts Director Damien Rogers. “As a small firm, it’s nice to get this recognition. The last time we were up for one of these awards was in 2011, and we hadn’t entered since. But we thought this was a very nice project that turned out really well and we enjoy a great relationship with the client, so we decided to put in a submission.
“Recognition like this is all about the team and we had an excellent team working on the Quality Improvement and Innovation Centre from June, 2021 until handover in September of last year, led by Contracts Manager / QS Jordan Mitchell and foreman Conrad Martin. Our team are highly skilled, vastly experienced and have been with us long-term, while we bring in tried and trusted subcontractors for the mechanical and electrical work.”
The Quality Improvement and Innovation Centre at Newtownards Community Hospital is a high specification refurbishment and extension to McWhinney Memorial Hall, which was designed as a psychiatric day care centre in the 1950s. The £1.6m project has brought the existing hall up to date with a modern refit and created an aesthetically-pleasing and comfortable innovation centre, comprising a conference room, meeting suites with adjoining breakout areas, a main hall and kitchen space.
The main hall was refurbished and state-of-the art AV and Video conferencing systems installed. The extension was completed over two phases: the first phase comprised new toilet and kitchen areas; the second being the conference and meeting suites and a new main entrance. The conference and meeting suites were fitted out with the same high level technology as the main hall.
The Quality Improvement and Innovation Centre will be used to provide training tools to help improve, innovate, support and guide staff on projects and improvements, incorporating a library, IT/Video conferencing and training facilities. With this in mind, Hamilton Architects designed a high-specification refurbishment to the main hall and extensions.
The architectural design meant attention to detail was paramount in delivering the high standard of finish. A lot of time was dedicated to ensuring this was achieved whilst keeping the striking design at the forefront of the project and still ensuring cost and time efficiency to meet the client’s needs.
The finish has merged the old building and the new building seamlessly, inside and out. Externally, the entrance has hardwood timber battens, smooth plaster, and a brick plinth, which carries through into the reception area’s feature walls. The reception ceiling is finished with aesthetically pleasing and practical acoustic baffle panels which complement the area. A light and airy working environment was maintained with floor to ceiling glazing promoting wellbeing for the hub users.
As WRC were working within a live hospital site, project management was to the forefront of delivery, ensuring dates were achieved and completion within budget, while still delivering a safety-conscious, sustainable and desirable project for the client. Safe working platforms were required, and traffic had to be managed during the entire works. Staff also had to be alerted in advance of any mechanical shutdowns or potential constraints arising from the work.
Working alongside Devlin Mechanical, up to date ventilation, plumbing, LTHW heating, AC and BMS systems were fitted in addition to a new boiler plant room and a rooftop AHU plant room. Meanwhile, WKK Electrical and their specialists installed new state-of-the-art technology, including AV systems, video conferencing and presentation systems, an updated switchboard, data system, fire alarm, CCTV and door access systems, along with a bespoke lighting system which is controlled by the latest Casambi lighting technology.
Outside, landscaping work included perimeter timber fencing, soil regrading, grass reseeding, shrub planting and tarmacking.
William Rogers Construction was established in Belfast in 1975 and relocated to Annalong, County Down in 2010. The company provides a full construction service, including design and build, civil engineering and project management, and is widely renowned for its ability to meet challenges by delivering innovative, high-quality solutions to all projects large or small.
A personal touch is guaranteed at all times, invariably leading to projects being completed on time, within budget and to meet or exceed client expectation, leading to a large volume of repeat business. “My dad is 77 now. He’s still a director and keeps a close eye on things,” Damien notes. “I joined the business at a young age after leaving school in 2005 and worked my way up. We came through a tough time with the recession but managed to rebuild the business. The foundations were already in place as we had good contacts and an excellent reputation.
“At present, we mostly specialise in public sector work for the Education Authority, Health Boards and local councils as well as some restoration and new build work as a developer. We do quite a few leisure and community projects, and have recently completed Midlands Boxing Club for Belfast City Council, which was a special project as it is Carl Frampton’s club and he attended the handover.
“We’ve completed projects at Queens University Belfast and also for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. We’re currently doing a refurb of Antrim Forum Leisure Centre, where we are refurbishing the main gym and the first phase has just been handed over. At Portadown Health Centre, we are creating new rooms in an atrium, working within a live environment – which is something we have great experience of.
“In private development, we completed a nice 93-unit development of 3-, 4- and 5-bedroom houses called Sawhill Park in our home village of Annalong. It’s always a pleasure to work locally and to have employment in the local area, where we also completed a £1m refurbishment of St Louis Grammar School in Kilkeel, which is our closest town.”
As for the key to William Rogers Construction’s ongoing success down through the decades, Damien concludes: “Building and maintaining strong client relationships is very important and we are renowned for that. It leads on to the next job and repeat business. Obviously you still have to tender for every project, but we have a great track record and like to believe we have fostered good working relationships with all our clients.”
William Rogers Construction Ltd,
237A Kilkeel Road,
Annalong,
Newry.
County Down.
Tel: 028 4376 7555
Email: [email protected]
Web: williamrogersconstruction.co.uk
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, November 2023, Vol 9 No 11
