Developing with the Times

The landscape of the Channel Islands has often reflected the predominant industry. From the busy ports of centuries past through to the glasshouses for the tomato industry and the ripping plastic covering the Jersey Royals. Today, the islands rely heavily on the finance and legal industries and their demands are changing the landscape once agin. Marc Burton, Cameron’s managing director, explains how its recent project, 44, Esplanade, meets the needs of 21st century business.

When the finance industry as we know it today first began to expand, many companies shoehorned themselves into existing buildings, making them fit their requirements as best they could.
But in recent years, as companies have outgrown their homes and often split into different sites, there has been a demand for modern, purpose designed and built premises which provide companies with the right environment to conduct business on a global scale.

The recently completed Ogier House at 44, Esplanade is perfect example of a site being identified, plans being drawn and a building being constructed to meet the exact requirements of a company. The initial contract for Camerons was with developer JNC for construction of the external shell ofthe building. Works began in February 2008 and completed in August 09 for this phase.
Ogier House is the result of long term planning by Ogier Partner’s, building on the success the business has enjoyed and demonstrating commitment to continued growth. Ogier required an office with 100,00 sq.ft and so with that in mindplans were drawn and approved. Camerons, as main contractor, began work on ther internal fitout of the project for Ogier as a client in June 2009 which completed during July of this year. Ogier House is now a stunning development, which complements its surroundings, meets thr current and future needs of Ogiers in layout, technology and facilities while at the same time officially being Jersey’s greenest building to date.
The six storey building includes open plan work areas, individual offices, state of the art meeting rooms, a fully-serviced cafe and roof terrace and one of the most sophisticated building management systems(BMS) available.

Considering the Environment
In preparation for their environmentally-friendly construction goals, Camerons’ project manager Phil Horsley went to the UK to become a qualified BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) assessor. He calculated at every step the environmental impact of both the construction process and the final product and managed all aspects of the build, including water and fuel consumption, as wellas waste management.
This investment paid off as Ogier House has achieved the BREEAM target rating of ‘very good’ – the first project in the Channel Islandsever to comply with sch stringent environmental benchmarks.
Camerons, which is the industry’s first EcoActive Business Leader accredited company, also applied for and achieved Considerate Constructor status for Ogier House. Applications to the Considerate Contractor National Site Awards are assessed against an eight point criteria and must score highly in each to be recognised – considerate, environment, cleanliness, good neighbour, respectful, safe responsible and accountable.

Multiple challenges
The building’s facade, which was key to creating an impressice first impression and providing natural light to the office floors, was possibly the most technical aspect of the structure and merited a full-time manager. The team, headed by Pascal Maurice, had to initially curtain wall the entire south an north facing elevation before attaching the reconsituted stone columns and beams which are fundamental to the building’s striking appearance.
The columns had to penetrate through the weather-proof glass facade – an extremely difficult operation with tolerances of two and three millimetres. To carry our this complex work, Camerons worked with their sister company, Granite Le Pelley, as the scope of the work required a sub-contractor with a set of very specific skills. Additionally, they were also responsible for the design and installation of the granite rainscreen facade and paving.

The building also contains another technical challenge – the three atriums, each measuring nine-metres by nine-metres which run through every floor to the roof of the building. They provide outlets for the airconditioning system, which then recycles the air in units positioned on the roof, contributing to the building’s green credentials. On some floors of the building the glass walls of the atia form elavations of meeting rooms and on others the atria are left open, with balusrades surrounding the structure.
The location also proved a challenge as there were only inches separating the buildings either side. This was combined with being on a very busy thoroughfare for both vehicles and pedestrians and so close liaison with Transport and Technical Services ensured that materials were only delivered when they were needed, as ther was no storage space, and with minimum disruption.

It’s all in the technology
As a new building, Ogier House is able to meet all the demands of Ogier’s current and future workforce. As well as the systems needed for 21st century data and communication, the building also has a wealth of innovative technology deployed throughtout.

The building management system controls lighting, temperature and ventilation and ahs motion sensors which allow lights to be switched on and off automatically. Drop-down projectors, remote-controlled blinds and electronic booking remotes at the entrace to each meeting room are all installed and the fire alarm is based on a complex system with more than 2,000 cause and effect stimulators – an open plan area of this size needs and advanced system in order to manage potential situations effectively.
Usability and staff comfort was also high on the design agenda and Ogier House has over 70 meeting rooms, training room facilities with foldaway partitions, bike racks, showers and a fully-fitted staff café which opens onto a roof terrace.

The sharing of skills
In undertaking this project, Camerons was able to draw on the expertise and experience of other professionals within its parent company Garenne Group. The Group has a long-history of constructing landmark office buildings in the Channel Islands which meet the needs of their tenants.
One of the most significant is The Flagship Offices, Admiral Park, Guernsey constructed by the Garenne Group’s Guernsey main contractor, RG Falla as the main contractor with Geomarine and Granite Le Pelley as significant subcontractors. Two 50,000 sq.ft offices together with the technically challenging double storey basement car park, built below sea level.

RG Falla is currently nearing completion of Glategny Court made up of 60,000 sq.ft new office space blended into a 17th century listed building, which has been refurbished, together with a 110 space underground car park built into the hillside.
The complexities of the site, which was compacted between existing buildings to three sides, meant RG Falla had to undertake piling and rock anchor work to support neighbouring properties.
The insistence by the Environment Department that the 17th century building should be retained has created an overall development that is sympathetic to the surrounding area but provides office space to meet 21st century needs.

There is no doubt that we have entered a new era in development with the environment taking precedence over a great many other considerations while still meeting the needs of its users. Ogier House demonstrates this new philosophy and we look forward to being involved in the creation of more technically and environmentally-advanced structures that put the Channel Islands at the forefront of this green development revolution.

Business Brief September 2010

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