Background

This was a Grade 1 listed building in the heart of Belgravia. It was developed to be the London residence of a particularly rich and powerful individual. There was to be no skimping in luxury which presented a problem, we had to introduce a total modern, exclusive building service system in which the slightest imperfection would not be tolerated whilst not being able to alter any of the fabric of the building all the way down to the joists supporting the floor boards.

Approach

There was no easy way to do this, every aspect was a challenge as the structural and architectural package developed daily with the enabling work and could change at the request of a client. Underfloor routes could not be established until floorboards had been removed which had to be scheduled and carefully done to allow each board to be put back properly. Only when the boards were up would we know which parts of the design was feasible.

To create drawings for the whole house took eight times longer than we had estimated but the amount of work to be done in a development such as this exceeded by factors what had been described in the scope.

Result

A happy oligarch and a much wiser BIM company who now fully understand the issues of coordinating in Grade I listed building.