Project overview
Situated in the heart of Cambridge, the project undertaken for St Catharine’s College aimed to enrich the environment for students, staff, and visitors by modernizing and integrating facilities.
This comprehensive endeavour involved the redevelopment and reconfiguration of key social spaces throughout the College while meticulously preserving and highlighting the heritage of the original structure.
The focal points of this revitalization effort included the Dining Hall and its adjacent areas, as well as enhancing access to the Sherlock Library, the Armitage Room, the Senior Combination Room (SCR), the Old Combination Room (OCR), the McGrath Centre, and the kitchen service and support areas.
Given the central location and the presence of occupied neighbouring buildings, the execution of noisy construction activities was rigorously monitored and restricted to designated hours throughout the duration of the project.
Helen Hayward Operations Director
“The re-modelling of our Central Spaces has transformed our social spaces; improving accessibility and circulation at the centre of the College’s historical estate, while also harmonising, connecting, and in some cases redesigning a wide range of existing and much-loved facilities (including the Hall, chapel, libraries, function rooms, gym, music room, kitchens and busy service areas). We cannot overemphasise how incredibly challenging it has been to connect and modernise such a complex set of rooms and structures, many of which are listed. SDC worked tirelessly to make the vision a reality, solving many technical engineering and construction problems and working in partnership with us to ensure the finished spaces matched our expectations.
SDC guided us through a period of considerable disruption showing great care for the College operations, which were ongoing throughout and we met our objective of having the facilities fully operational for the start of our new term in October 2022, despite the pandemic, Brexit and the war in Ukraine – any one of which might have thrown a contractor off course. Perhaps as important as anything, we had fun working as a team along the way.”
Project team
Adam Knaggs
Managing Director
Adam joined SDC in 1995 as a Site Engineer. His position as Managing Director involves contributing to the day-to-day running of the business, setting the strategy for projects, and supporting all departments. Adam’s active approach to problem solving has been a defining trait of his career, as recognised by the Institution of Civil Engineers who honoured him with their Site Engineer of the Year Award 1999, in which he was praised for designing his own shuttering system.
Andrew Shiner
Director
Andy joined SDC as a Site Agent and rose through the ranks to Project Director, before taking on his current role as Board Director in 2020. The experience he gained in all three professions will undoubtedly assist him in leading this scheme. On a previous project for NIAB in Cambridge, Andy’s team were responsible for SDC’s highest Considerate Constructors’ score to date (90 out of 100) and a Runner’s Up Prize at the CCS National Awards in 2019.
Andrew Mitchell
Director
Andrew is a senior member of staff who holds the role of Director/Company Secretary. He joined SDC in 1994, and had therefore been with the company for almost thirty years. He plays a key role in ensuring that board procedures are both followed and regularly reviewed. The Chairman and Board Directors will look to the Company Secretary for guidance as to what their responsibilities are under the rules and regulations to which they are subject, and on how these responsibilities should be discharged.
Francis Shiner
Chairman
Since joining the company in 1983, Francis has assumed various roles, from Chief Surveyor to managing Director, ultimately assuming the position of Chairman in 2021.
Dan Changer
Director
Dan studied Architecture at the University of Cambridge and worked as a chartered Architect before joining SDC in 2010. Joining as a Design Coordinator, Dan then opted to work as a Contracts Manager, receiving a promotion to Project Manager before his appointment to the Board of Directors in 2020. His duties and responsibilities include setting the overall strategy for the project, as well as leading the project team and ensuring the scheme is delivered within the client’s time, quality and budget constraints. Dan’s client-focused attitude and collaborative problem-solving approach will be crucial to the scheme’s successful delivery.
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