i8 | east ham civic campus More than just a campus: How East Ham Civic Campus regeneration project won over its community By Currie & Brown Constructing toy cranes, commissioning Victorian terracotta tiles and creating a 3D walk-through computer simulation are not the usual work of construction project managers Currie & Brown. But they were valuable activities to help gain community involvement in the London Borough of Newham’s GBP 31 million East Ham Civic Campus regeneration project. The East Ham Campus project is a development that aims to revitalize East Ham’s civic center through a wide range of renovation and new build projects. But the project also goes one step further. From the outset, the Newham Council wanted to ensure the involvement of local stakeholders, ranging from English Heritage to young people who might attend one of the schools. people of the benefits of the investments it was making in the local community. Sir Robin said: “At a time when other councils have closed their libraries, we’ve kept ours open and invested heavily to make them more accessible, increased the number of computers and new books, as well as enabled residents to access council services in one place. We’ll continue to invest in and provide our residents with the first-class services and facilities they deserve.” The message was well received as more than 2,000 local people registered for library cards in the opening week. Sensitive renovation and sustainable planning Extensive renovation to London Borough of Newham’s historic buildings was an important aspect of the project. Damaged originals, for instance, on the exterior of the old Technical College were replaced with customized terracotta. The project also involved the construction of a combined customer service center and library building. A three-story, 4,000 m2 structure, the center/library includes a central energy center that employs ground heat pumps. The central energy center helps heat the center/library along with other buildings on the campus. Bat boxes around the building’s area encourage wildlife. The customer service center and library also scooped the Best Public Building Award at the Brick Development Association’s Brick Awards 2014. The Brick Awards, one of the longest established and most widely respected design awards in the UK, recognize excellence in design and construction using brick. Considerate construction Managing multi-site projects in the middle of a busy town center over a three-year time frame comes with many logistical problems. The project team was delighted to receive a Considerate Constructors Scheme Award, recognizing the team’s efforts to protect and respect local people living and working around the sites. Out-of-the-box publicity The latest milestone in the project has been the successful conversion of the Technical College, a listed Edwardian building, into a state-of-the-art sixth form college that specializes in science and mathematics. The college opened its doors to students in September 2014 and helps young people stay in the local area rather than travel to other colleges outside the borough. To publicize the attractions of the new college prior to its opening, Currie & Brown commissioned a 3D computer model of the center that gave local secondary school children a photo-realistic fly-through from the outside of the refurbished building right into the classrooms, Community benefit In February 2014, the center/library was opened by the Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales. It was a chance for the council to celebrate and remind 12