Archus shortlisted for SME of the Year at CESW 2021 Awards
The Archus team is proud to be shortlisted for SME of the Year at the Constructing Excellence South West awards (CESW). Archus was an integral partner in the delivery of the NHS surge hospital Ysbyty Calon Y Ddraig/ Dragon’s Heart Hospital in Cardiff in 2020. We were honoured to be nominated for the CEW award by our fellow partner, and global engineering and consultancy practice, Mott MacDonald, who recognised our breadth of knowledge, experience, and our commitment to delivering these world-class healthcare facilities in emergency conditions.
Working in partnership with Mott MacDonald and a multidisciplinary team, Archus funnelled the strength and spirit of the Welsh dragon to draw together the planning, ingenuity and commitment needed to deliver a brand new, temporary hospital within the Welsh National Stadium. In a role specifically centred on clinical engagement, healthcare planning, project and property management – the Archus team worked to translate clinical requirements into design reality.
The brand-new collaborative partnership of NHS professionals, the Council and leading health and construction experts was mobilised and onsite within 24 hours after the requirement for the Nightingale Hospital was determined, and it took just 10 days to deliver the initial 300 beds. At the peak of the programme, over 50 NHS staff, 600 contractors, and 30 different companies committed over 250,000 man hours to achieve the impossible. The Dragon’s Heart Hospital safeguarded the local health board’s ability to care for patients during the first wave of the Covid-19 crisis and ended up being the only Nightingale facility that treated seriously ill Covid-19 patients during its existence.
Our own committed team was onsite 24-hours a day in rotation, often isolating from family and close friends to deliver the ultimate 1500 bed surge hospital and all supporting infrastructure in just four weeks.
The Archus team applied wider system thinking and healthcare infrastructure strategy across the whole project, as well as meticulous delivery. Our end-to-end advice brought clarity to the project – working extensively on the installation of the hospital, and providing invaluable guidance and leadership throughout the reinstatement of an elite world-renowned sporting stadium.
Shane Dineen, Executive Director, Archus
Being nominated by Mott MacDonald for the CESW 2021 Awards is a glowing testament to the strong partnership approach that made this project such a success. The level of interaction between partners was absolute and a ‘one team’ mentality emerged quickly and remains to this day. In a lasting legacy to the project, we are now working with partners to tackle additional healthcare challenges; including the development of an end-to-end solution that will enable future hospitals to be built in an accelerated time period.
The winners of the CESW 2021 Awards will be selected following a rigorous judging stage ahead of the award ceremony on 17th September 2021. This is the second awards accolade that Archus has been shortlisted for this year, with the Dragon’s Heart project also being shortlisted in the 2021 HSJ Partnership Awards, with winners set to be announced in June 2021.
