The Castle Hotel, Legoland, Windsor
Value - £3.2m | Main contractor - Kier Construction
A unique three storey hotel developed for Merlin Entertainments at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort. Works included the development of a new Knights and Wizards themed 61 bedroom Castle Hotel, the extension to the existing Bricks Restaurant and Skyline Bar, reconfiguration of the reception, new VIP reception and retail store plus a new bar and restaurant providing 175 covers.
The challenge:
In addition to the new extension, works had to take into consideration the existing construction and retrofitting requirements.
While the lower level SFS build was relatively straightforward, architects The Manser Practice specified turreted sections to the upper level.
A fully bespoke cladding system, giving the impression of x25 scale LEGO bricks, had to be installed onto the SFS structure.
In addition to the 61 bedroom hotel, construction had to incorporate large open areas at ground floor level for leisure and entertainment facilities.
The site, located within the busy and popular LEGOLAND Windsor theme park, presented challenging on-site logistics and required a high degree of logistical planning to minimise disruption.
The timescales on the project were demanding and Mansell Building Solutions had to ensure the timely handover of a watertight shell to McGoff Construction.
The solution:
Mansell Building Solutions took a key role in the design phase of the project, with specialist input regarding the detailing of the Metframe structure and as to how the unique cladding was to be installed onto it.
Over 3,000m2 of Metframe was installed, including 600m2 of wall infill and careful adaptation and detailing was required to the turreted sections to the upper level, thus requiring the manufacture of a number of bespoke elements.
Pre-panelisation of the frames was undertaken at Mansell Building Solutions’ production facility in Middleton, Manchester which were then delivered to site in the correct erection sequence at the exact moment they were needed using just in time deliveries.
In addition to the Metframe, Mansell Building Solutions’ works also included 3,000m2 of ceilings, 12,500m2 of plastering and 21,000m2 of drylining.
The benefits:
Mansell Building Solutions’ design input included the turreted sections to the upper level and the fully bespoke cladding system was installed without issue to give the specified finish.
As the pre-panelised Metframe was delivered to site to the exact specification, the amount of time spent erecting the frame was reduced by 30%.
The use of just-in-time deliveries reduced the amount of disruption on-site, a key requirement due to LEGOLAND Windsor being open to the public at the time of development.
The SFS solution effectively delivered zero waste on site and overall waste was reduced by 25% over the build.
A decrease in weight of over 70%, compared to traditional on-site construction, resulted in a significantly reduced transportation impact.
Mansell Building Solutions completed their works on time ensuring a timely handover to McGoff Construction and the hotel opened on time in June 2017.
“This project presented us with a number of unique challenges that we had never come across before and will possibly never come across again! However, having worked with Metsec for some time now, we have considerable expertise, so can deal with pretty much anything that is thrown at us. And this experience was key to ensure a timely handover to McGoff Construction and ultimately the success of this project.”
Mike Foy
Divisional Director, off-site
