General
AKSWard Ltd were instructed by John Marshall, on behalf of the Oxford Method Royalties Management Group, to produce a study exploring the feasibility of over-cladding the ‘New Wing’, Unit 69 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury. In addition, Sworn King and Partners were instructed to provide estimated costing including net present value calculations for each option put forward by AKSWard.
This feasibility study has also been commissioned in order to provide assistance to other owners and users of Oxford Method Buildings seeking advice on maintenance and refurbishment. However, Oxford Method Buildings were built to a general design pattern, which was not always strictly adhered to. It is often the case, therefore, that design details differ and the quality of components and construction standards vary between individual Oxford Method buildings. We therefore recommend that the contents of this report is used as guidance only and that prior to any works being undertaken professional advise is sought and detailed investigations carried out on an individual building basis.
Scope of Works
The agreed scope of work was outlined in our letter dated 6th July 2005, which is included in the appendices for clarification. In summary this report has been produced to explore different over-cladding options available for the building and to highlight the implications of each option in terms of practicality and cost etc.
Prior to undertaking our study we were provided with a copy of a previous report carried out in 2001 in relation to the Ophthalmic Unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The previous report was provided as an example of the level of detail required in our current study.
The scope of work has developed through the project but initially this only included for a detailed review of two additional re-cladding options to the external walls including a new brickwork outer-skin and a propriety ‘Sto’ render on blockwork. The original brief also included a review of the existing roof membrane as well as the various other cladding options outlined in the previous study.
It was subsequently agreed that the roof of the ‘New Wing’ was in sound condition and need not be included within the scope of this report. Furthermore, it was decided that the review of the previous options, detailed in the 2001 study, would not be required as many of these would not be applicable for the current building. It was further agreed that in addition to the brickwork and ‘Sto’ render options a third over-cladding option would also be considered.
Following presentation of our draft report in January 2006 it was agreed that the ‘Sto’ Render Option would not be suitable and an alternative scheme including architectural cladding panels would be considered instead. The ‘Kingspan’ system was selected as an alternative and is included in this current report.
Structure of Report
The report includes a description of the building and local site conditions, and highlights practical limitations in terms of the proposed works on occupants etc. Four over-cladding options have been considered; i.e. full architectural over-cladding; rendered structural cladding; brickwork to ground level with architectural over-cladding above and brickwork to ground floor with structural rendered cladding above. A full description of each system is included in the overcladding options Section of the report with manufacturers’ literature in the appendices.
We have discussed the pro’s and con’s of each option and have made our recommendations for the preferred over-cladding solution in the report. Sworn King and Partners have calculated estimated cost for the four options and this is included in the section on estimated costs.
©2004 Oxford Method Royalties Management Group