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Nearly 60 lucky third-year architecture students at Bournemouth University recently came to Bobby & Co to hear from those leading the refurbishment of the old department store.
The iconic building is currently undergoing a major renovation of the top floor and exterior in a bid to restore Bobby’s to its former glory.
Students held four 30-minute sessions with the scheme’s construction and consulting teams, followed by Q&A and a behind-the-scenes tour of the site.
Speakers include Ashley Harris of Spetisbury Construction, Matt Allibone of Whitefox – Chartered Surveyors and Mike Ford of Footprint Architects, all of whom are closely involved in the work for client Verve Properties.
Ashley kicked off the meeting by saying, “Bobby’s is committed to curating and bringing together a diverse range of products, events and experiences that are not available online.
“In doing so, it focuses on localization, sustainability and putting community at its core.
“We believe Verve deserves credit because they are investing in existing buildings, putting something back into the community and repurposing what is already here.
“If they hadn’t acquired the building, there wouldn’t be many people willing to take on a project that requires so much work.
“It’s always simpler and easier for developers to buy properties with green space outside the city, and construction costs are more manageable.”
Ashley went on to detail the scope of works being carried out, including demolition and re-roofing works, installation of new steel fire stairs and refurbishment of the rear fourth floor to form new offices.
Next up is Matt, who describes the project management and cost consultancy role of Whitefox – Chartered Surveyor whilst delving into the challenges associated with such a major contract.
“One of the keys to achieving and delivering a successful project is good communication and ongoing and regular interaction with different stakeholders,” he said.
“This includes the design team, construction team, local authorities and building control, tenants, neighbors and the public, among others.”
Matt also emphasized the need to “listen, engage, and proactively think ahead about the risks and challenges that may exist in a project.”
Finally, Mike from Footprint Architects spoke to students about how Bobby’s project seeks to meet the needs of today’s communities for high streets – inspiring interiors, points of interest, social space and interaction within a beautifully designed building.
“From the early stages of the project, we cover all parts of the development – conceptual design, planning applications, building controls, construction drawings and site assistance,” he said.
“The entire building management process is very complex as we are dealing with various phased projects at different stages of work.
“A key complication was the historic nature of the building, with its ‘native conservation’ façade bringing with it a host of additional planning requirements.
“Over the past 100 years, it has also gone through four different periods of construction, expansion and renovation.
“Therefore, all buildings are different construction types with different requirements and performance.
“It’s been a huge challenge to bring it all together. We’ve probably had about seven planning applications so far.”
AUB visitors can then put on their hard hats and high-visibility bibs for a behind-the-scenes tour.
Student Anton Parsons said: “This semester we had an educational project where we designed a new frame structure.
“Seeing the new frame structure being installed on Bobby’s site was really helpful in understanding how it aligned with the steel and timber and how they worked together.
“What a great visit!”
Senior Lecturer Melanie Kaviani added: “It’s great to be around our students.
“It’s insightful for students to hear and see the consultants working together and their collaborative approach – it gives them an overview of everything we teach, from project inception to completion.
“It doesn’t happen very often, so it’s a good practice for them.”
For now, work continues at Bobby’s, where pizza oven company Gozney recently moved into a third-floor location.
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