MSc Field Trip: BIM and the Rose Hill Community Centre

The March 2015 Intensive Study Week for students on the MSc Project Management in the Built Environment and the MSc Construction Project Management brought together full-time and open-learning students together on campus to attend lectures, seminars and workshops and to share experiences.

On site at Rose Hill - photo by Po Yung

During the week, the students went on a field trip to the site where the new Rose Hill Community Centre is being built. The visit was organised in collaboration with Beard Construction (main contractors) and the Clarkson Alliance (project managers). Thanks to Po Yung (Clarkson Alliance) for the photos.

So, what's so special about the project? Quite a lot:

Community Referendum
There was already an existing community centre in Rose Hill, but it was shabby and in need of refurbishment, so, Oxford City Council decided to hold a community referendum to allow the residents of Rose Hill to decide the future of their centre - refurbish or replace? A multi-lingual poster campaign and survey followed, along with visits (for residents) to other community centres and open days where residents could meet the project team and discuss plans. The final vote took place during a community fun day where the result was also announced: build a new community centre.

New Opportunities 
The decision to build a new community centre provided a great opportunity for the Council to bring together a number of key services under one roof. The new centre will house several existing services including the social club, advice centre and youth club and will also provide a new doctor's surgery, a community gym, a fully equipped training kitchen and a new office for Thames Valley police. The existing sports pavilion will be demolished and new Sport England & Football Association compliant facilities will provided in the new centre. The new development is taking place on Ashurst Way, meaning that the old community centre site can now be used for housing developments. As housing is in severe shortage around Oxford, the project helps meet multiple objectives for the Council.

Inside the new community centre - photo by Po Yung

Building Information Modelling (BIM)
The Rose Hill project has used BIM as a tool to develop and model the project - one of the benefits of BIM is that people (in this case the residents) are able to see what a project will actually look like from an early stage. And here is the Rose Hill BIM project:

Opening in 2015

For more information on BIM and its implementation, visit the BIM Task Group website. The Department of Real Estate and Construction will be introducing a new MSc later this year with a BIM focus: MSc Construction Project Management and BIM - keep your eye on our website for more details.