Leading engineering specialist, SES Engineering Services (SES), has announced its appointment to deliver an £84 million new development at the University of Glasgow.

The Adam Smith Business School and Postgraduate Teaching Hub is the fourth major development to commence as part of the University’s Campus Development Plan.

Appointed by Multiplex following a competitive tender, this latest project enables SES to draw on its recent experience gained on the University of Glasgow’s James McCune Smith Learning Hub which completed in early 2021 and was the first building to be delivered as part of the masterplan.

Working again with main contractor and Programme Delivery Partner, Multiplex, SES will be providing a full MEP service, adopting the same strategy utilised when working on the Learning Hub including the production of a full BIM Level 2 model, which will essentially simplify building maintenance in the future.

Once operational, the six-storey building, which has a gross internal floor area of 11,600m2, will provide specialised teaching, research and collaboration space for the University’s postgraduate taught student community, whilst delivering state-of-the-art premises for the world-leading business school.

Designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’, SES will collaborate closely at the pre-construction stage with its designers, engineers and production teams to reduce on site hours and address the challenges of labour and the delivery of long lead items, by procuring sub-contracted services and materials early in the programme.

Commenting on SES’s appointment, managing director, Steve Joyce, said:

“We have a tried and tested team who have already successfully delivered the James McCune Smith Learning Hub, which was the first project completed on this framework, and we are delighted to return to the University of Glasgow once more to work with the Multiplex team, with whom we have developed a strong and effective relationship.

“We will be looking to equal or improve upon the 7,000 labour hours we saved through offsite construction on the Learning Hub and as a sustainable, trusted and progressive business, we will be delivering on our commitment to the community by providing training and employment opportunities throughout the programme.”

Steve Joyce
Managing Director, SES Engineering Services

Adding his thoughts, Steve Houston, Senior M&E Manager, Multiplex, said:

“We are pleased to have begun the pre-construction phase of this latest building for the University of Glasgow, which will provide world-class facilities for teaching, research and collaboration with key stakeholders.  The project will be delivered under a NEC3 Option C contract, and during the next few months we will be working closely with the design team, the university and our other project partners to develop optimum supply chain relationships to ensure we deliver the project on time and to budget following the commencement of site works in April 2022.”

Steve Houston
Senior M&E Manager, Multiplex

Other professional firms appointed to the contract are Hassell, architects; Arup, M&E design and structural engineers; Faithful + Gould, project managers and Currie & Brown, quantity surveyors.

The pre-construction phase got underway in September 2021, site works will begin in April 2022 and completion is scheduled in 2023.