Top education organisations opt for ME Construction

ST ALBANS, U.K. - Oct. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- Having completed a major refurbishment project for The American School in London (ASL), the London-based specialist construction company, ME Construction, has recently finished a further two projects for organisations in the education sector.

ME Construction carried out a £130,000 flooring refurbishment project for Goldsmiths’ University (http://www.gold.ac.uk/) which, in the Complete University Guide league tables for 2014, has been named in the UK's top 10 universities for Art & Design, and Communication & Media Studies.

The project (http://www.meconstruction.co.uk/project/44/sector/3/#.Ui9V0H9NRWc) involved the removal of existing floor coverings and nosings (some containing asbestos) from common part corridors and all the main stairwells within the university’s Richard Hoggart Building. Remedial works including levelling and repairs to the existing timber sub-floors, followed by the laying of new flooring materials (carpet, vinyl and nosings).

“The works were programmed to be carried out over seven phases, in order to minimise the inconvenience to students,” explained ME Construction’s Operations Director, Dennis Barnard. “In fact, because of the working practices we adopted, the university was able to operate a full normal working timetable, with access / egress maintained to all areas to hold examinations immediately adjacent to our teams’ work areas.”

In addition, during the summer vacation, ME Construction carried out some further work for University College London (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/) (UCL) – this time refurbishing and up-grading student facilities. ME Construction’s Business Development Director, Paul Driver, commented: “This is the latest in a number of projects which we’ve completed for UCL over recent years.

“They include a £1.1m refurbishing and altering parts of the basement and other floors of UCL’s Darwin Building, to provide new specialist research laboratories as well as educational space, a seminar room and offices. There was also the renovation of a staircase in the university’s Medical Sciences Building; altering, adapting and refurbishing several floors of UCL’s Grade II Listed building at 35 Tavistock Square to form the new Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, and carrying out external works to UCL’s head office in Torrington Place.

“As a company which is only six years old and yet is in the current Fast Track 100 (http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/ft100leaguet...) list of the fastest growing privately-held companies in Britain, in terms of sales, we’re building a successful reputation on dedication, diligence, knowledge, skills, a professional approach and a ‘can do’ attitude. To judge from our order book, this appears to appeal to organisations in education –and, indeed, those in other sectors too,” he added.

ME Construction’s project for The American School involved a fast track refurbishment of the school’s commons area and was completed over the summer recess period. This included an internal strip out of mechanical and electrical services, as well as conducting structural alterations reconfiguring the Theatre Foyer, Commons and back-of-house areas.

Adapting the existing systems, new mechanical and electrical services were installed, including a new internal goods lift for the servery. Other works involved installing a new acoustic ceiling to the main Commons area, reconfiguring the back-of-house areas to provide new changing and welfare facilities and new bespoke joinery works.

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About the American School in London (ASL)

ASL was founded on 21sr April 1951 by Stephen L. Eckard, an American journalist and former teacher living in London. Mr. Eckard was working for the North American Service of the BBC when several co-workers encouraged him to start a school that followed an American curriculum. The School began with 13 students, and all classes took place in his Knightsbridge flat. Within six months, the School had become so popular that three teachers were hired and it was moved to a more spacious property in Chelsea. The School then moved to a large house in Grosvenor Square, later adding two houses in Gloucester Gate and four houses in York Terrace.

The first High School graduation was held in 1960.

In 1964, the newly formed Board of Trustees decided to raise funds for a $7m building to house the whole school. They broke ground in 1968 – at the Waverley Place site in NW8 which remains the School’s home. The Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher, MP, then secretary of state for education and science, spoke at the building’s dedication in 1971.

About Goldsmiths’ University

The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths set up its Technical and Recreative Institute in 1891 – in the former Royal Naval School building - to provide educational opportunities for the people of New Cross. The University of London acquired the new Institute and re-established it as Goldsmiths’ College in 1904. Since 1989, Goldsmiths has been a full College of the University – and received a Royal Charter, in 1990, from HRH The Princess Royal. Goldsmiths’ has its own role as an independent university institution while, at the same time, being committed to its membership of one of the world’s great academic federations.

About UCL

UCL was established in 1826 to open up education in England for the first time to students of any race, class or religion. UCL was also the first university to welcome female students on equal terms with men. Academic excellence and conducting research that addresses real-world problems inform its ethos to this day.

About ME Construction

ME Construction – a specialist refurbishment contractor, active in London and the surrounding areas - was founded in 2007 to deliver high quality projects in a professional manner normally associated with the larger industry PLCs. It concentrates on the delivery of small to medium-sized projects - typically, not exceeding £4.5m.

In 2012, ME Construction was recognised as the UK’s fastest growing privately owned construction company – and included in the Fast Track 100 list, published in The Sunday Times.

Further information from:

Paul Driver, ME Construction, +44 (0)20 7234 5967; PDriver@meconstruction.co.uk

Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405; bob.little@boblittlepr.com