Swansea University Wins The AUDE Estates And Facilities Team Of The Year Award For Development Of Bay Campus

The Estates and Facilities Management team at Swansea University have won AUDE’s 2016 Estates and Facilities Team of the Year Award for the remarkable Bay Campus development. This award recognises exceptional team work leading to a significant achievement. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The 2016 Higher Education Estates and Facilities Awards took place at the Gala dinner on the final night of the annual AUDE conference held at Exeter University. Each year the awards celebrate and highlight the achievements of universities and best practice in the industry, including those who lead the way in estate and facilities management. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The team at Swansea University impressed the judges with the sheer scale and detail that they were involved in from initial analysis in 2008, development of the Masterplan, coordination of the Development Agreement in March 2012 through all aspects of planning, construction, mobilisation and operation. The Bay Campus development was finished in 2015 and was the most significant project in the University’s 100 year history. It has transformed a former brownfield industrial site into a new, fit for purpose 21st century environment for research excellence, outstanding student experience with state of the art facilities for academic collaborations with industry. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The £450 million, 1 million sq ft, Science and Innovation focussed Bay Campus relocated more than 30% of the University’s community and saw the institution operate across multiple campuses for the first time. The Bay Campus has doubled the size of the University estate and creates new facilities, housing research with global business. This investment has bought world class academics to Swansea and has led to the biggest leap in Research Excellence rankings from 52nd to 26th in the UK (REF 2014). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

There were a number of specific and unique challenges that were faced including simultaneous design and construction of seven new multi-million pound buildings; Oversight of £200m million as phase one of the £450m scheme. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Craig Nowell, Director of Estates and Facilities Management at Swansea University said: “This was a massive team effort and I couldn’t be prouder of every single person who got involved in making the Bay Campus a reality. All aspects of Bay Campus development, including project planning, procurement, construction, collaborative management, relocation activities and the implementation of facilities management and commercial services in an ambitious 26 month timescale were handled by the Swansea team.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The judges were on the lookout for teams, projects and individuals who have made a significant contribution to enhancing excellence and ensuring university estates provide best value to support the institutional mission and promote efficiency and effectiveness. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

AUDE Chair and head judge, Trevor Humphreys, commented: “The Bay Campus at Swansea is truly unique in scale and complexity and demanded exceptional performances from all involved. The estates team showed real teamwork. The scale of the project should not be under estimated and the success is very impressive. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The University sector has faced monumental changes over the past year, so it’s encouraging to see that the standards across all our institutions remains extremely high to help deliver the best student experience possible.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The AUDE Conference and Awards in 2017 will be held at the University of Manchester from 10th to 12th April. This event is for members of AUDE and invited guests and will be accompanied by an exhibition and sponsorship opportunities. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

2016 Awards ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Award judges: Sue Holmes, AUDE Chair and Director of Estates Oxford Brookes University, Trevor Humphreys, AUDE Chair and Director of Estates and Facilities University of Surrey, Jerry Barnes – Sponsor Hoare Lea; Nolan Smith – HEFCE and Quintin McKellar, Vice Chancellor Hertfordshire University ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

About AUDE ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

AUDE promotes excellence in the strategic planning, management, operation and development of Higher Education estates and facilities. AUDE offers membership to publically funded UK bodies whose primary remit is higher education teaching and/or research. There are no membership categories for commercial bodies. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​