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Practice Name:
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Stanley
House Veterinary Group
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Design Award for:
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Refurbishment
and also received the Presidents Award
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Q1. What were you trying to achieve/what was your
overall goal?
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A1Our
aim was to totally modernise and create more spacious facilities, giving
staff and clients a beautiful environment.
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Q2.
What were the 3 most important factors included in your practice design?
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A2.
More
space for staff and clients
Room
to grow
Looks
amazing
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Q3.
Did you use and architect? If not, why not?
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A3.
Yes
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Q4.
Why did you decide to undertake the project?
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A4. We are a big part of the community in Colne and the
practice has been on the same site for 99 years. We did look at getting a
site out of town but the right land / building in our budget did not present
itself. When the property next door became available we decided to stay in
our beautiful old premises and give the practice a total make over.
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Q5.
Did you keep within your budget? If not by what percent did you exceed your
budget?
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A5.
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Q6.
With hindsight, what would you do differently?
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A6.
We would employ a different company to manage the project.
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Q7.
How has this changed your business?
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A7.
We have tripled the work space we
have, giving the staff a lot better working environment, the clients a
beautiful surgery. We have greatly increased our capacity to see more animals.
Going from 3 consulting rooms to 5. One op theatre to two plus a dental suite
and diagnostic suite. We now have separate waiting rooms for dogs and cats
and are a cat friendly clinic. As well as separate clinical and medical wards
for both dog and cats.
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Q8.
What has winning the Design Award meant to you?
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A8.
We are incredibly proud of this achievement. Most of the renovation was
managed in house. We also worked in the same building whilst the work was
being done. Needless to say this brought new challenges to the practice.
Getting the award has made the challenges worthwhile.
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Q9.
Was the project very stressful? What was the most stressful situation?
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A9.
The most stressful part is we had to
part company with the company we employed to manage the work. This mean all
the day to day issues were handled in house by the practice manager.
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Q10.
What parts of the project went as you expected and what parts did not?
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A10.
The practice looks exactly how we wanted it to it just took longer to do it.
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Q11.
Did you use a project manager, or did you manage the project yourself?
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A11.
we started off with a project manager and ended up doing the majority ourselves
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Q12.
Who were the main suppliers that you used?
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A12
The builders we used were Duxbury’s
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Q13.
What features are particularly important to you?
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A13.
We love all of it. The basement, which is our surgical department is an
amazing bright open space with incredible lighting. We did not want staff to
feel they were working in artificial light all day. The lights we put in make
it feel like day light. The reception and waiting rooms look fantastic again
the are bright open spaces with a great colour scheme.
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Q14.
Are you and your staff pleased with the results?
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A14.
Absolutely
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Q15.
Are your clients pleased with the results?
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A15.
The clients love it.
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Q16.
What tips do you have for others contemplating a building /refurbishment
project?
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A17.
Do your research in the Project
management company and employ a QS from the start. Set clear boundaries for
time scales and penalties for not making the deadlines.
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