Marks and Spencer, Warrington

Marks and Spencer, Gemini Park, Warrington

The Gemini store is Marks and Spencer’s flagship store of the North. Originally built in 1994, it was one of the first out of town retail parks and has been a huge success for M&S.

By getting involved early on in the project in 2009, Wates Retail were able to use their long-standing relationship with M&S to influence design and buildability decisions to provide a programme and phasing sequence which brought the best for both client and main contractor.

The project itself consisted of building a new 25,000 sq ft steel frame extension which sits over the top of the existing store, although not connected to it. The extension is standalone, supported on 43 x 8m long steel columns which were dropped through the existing store roof through pre-formed penetrations.

We proposed an alternative method of a bottom driven pile casing at pre tender stage, as opposed to the auger piles originally proposed. The steel columns were sited on concrete foundations which had been piled inside a hoarded area of the live store during trading hours with minimal disruption to our client. This resulted in a cost saving for the client, a massive reduction in the amount of spoil produced and a much quieter installation process.

Other structural elements of the project were a brand new architectural glass façade with new display windows and a balcony to serve the 200 cover café on the new first floor.

The nature of the project resulted in many challenges for the construction team, including the live trading environment which was maintained through careful phasing and co-ordination with the store team. Many operations, for example crane works, could only be carried out during hours when the store was closed. The site itself is bordered along one elevation by the M62 motorway, which again provided access problems.

The existing roof structure of the store was only suitable for maintenance access, which led to the installation of many temporary walkways of the works as well as designing in a system of cantilever stubs which was used as an access platform for all the roofing and cladding works.

A key factor to the success of this project was understanding the clients needs, this enabled us to deliver the project in a manner that led to the least disruption for its staff and customers, whilst always ensuring that we delivered on quality and programme in a high risk environment.

Categories: live environments, refurbishment, extensions, major retail, health and safety, north west

Tags: Marks & Spencer, North, Retail Park

Paul Danks