New teaching block within Xaverian college’s campus
Xaverian College, established in 1862 by the Xaverian Brothers, is located in Victoria Park, Rusholme. The campus features a collection of historical buildings and, at the time of the project, accommodated approximately 2,500 students and staff across nine buildings: Ward Hall, Birtles, Marylands, Firwood, Xavier, Sunbury, Ryken, Mayfield, and Teresa Quinn. Over time, the campus has expanded through a combination of new builds and acquisitions.
Scope of Works
The project involved the demolition of the existing Sunbury building, including decommissioning services during the PCSA period.
Coordination was critical between trades including boarding, electrical, and ducting teams to manage access and materials efficiently. Beam encasement and fire stopping were installed prior to ducting, cabling, and containment works. On the top floor, boarding, fire compartmentation, fire alarm systems, ducting, cabling, containment, and air conditioning works were completed. Site management required careful planning to accommodate multiple trades working in close proximity. Scaffolding adjustments were necessary to allow crane access in restricted areas. Recent weather conditions, including frost and rainfall, caused brief pauses to roof and window installation works. Additionally, a new service diversion was required, which involved tracing the water connection and providing a temporary feed outside the building]
Stakeholder Engagement
Project Manager Steve Johnson led the project, maintaining consistent liaison with the client and project team AA Projects. Key stakeholders included Ivan Lewis (Financial Lead), Simon Channell (Client Lead), and Michelle Long (Curriculum Lead).
The works comprised the design, construction, completion, and defects rectification of a new teaching block, including communal and circulation areas, external works, drainage, and services. The new block was designed to provide modern Science laboratories for students.
Construction Activities
Seddon commenced on-site with a soft strip of existing building materials in preparation for full demolition, which began in April and was completed in June 2024. External windows and doors were carefully removed before demolition, and building materials were crushed and recycled to fill the existing basement. Construction involved multiple trades working concurrently within a constrained site, with around 40 personnel on-site during peak periods.
Seddon also engaged with the college community. Representatives from Footprint, working with Seddon Construction, attended a careers fair at Xaverian College to showcase the project. Students received information on apprenticeship pathways and career opportunities in construction.
Challenges
Logistics: The extremely tight site made managing materials difficult. Deliveries had limited storage space, requiring frequent shifting and lifting of materials, complicated by 40+ trades on-site simultaneously.
Design: Delays in design submissions meant that although on-site works began in February, the designs are only now reaching RIBA Stage 5.
Waste Management: With limited space, only one forklift could operate at a time, restricting the simultaneous movement of materials in and waste out.
Power: The substation powering the building is located across the campus. Connecting to it required digging across an active, live campus, posing additional logistical challenges
