A £9.5m upgrade of the building which houses the University of Manchester’s School of Arts, Languages and Cultures has been completed.
MC Construction undertook the two-year project at the Samuel Alexander Building, the largest contract in the Salford company’s 46-year history.
Work began in 2015 and was carried out in phases to minimise disruption to staff and students.
The Grade II listed building on Oxford Road has been remodelled and refurbished across all of its four wings.
The scheme involved refurbishing and expanding office areas, creating language hubs and common rooms, upgrading the café, IT cluster, the Classics wing and one entrance, improvements to the courtyard and replacing services such as power, heating and lighting.
Many works were scheduled outside of term time while at other times contractors began the working day early to ensure drilling and other noisy tasks were completed before staff and students arrived.
MC Construction’s project delivery team was led by commercial director Eugene O’Callaghan.
Other professional firms involved in the scheme included project manager Gardiner & Theobald, architect Halliday Meecham and consulting engineers WYG Group.
Mr O’Callaghan said: “A major refurbishment project in a live environment presents a number of challenges.
“Careful planning and a great deal of hard work by our delivery teams, combined with a proactive, collaborative approach from all involved, have produced an excellent result for this landmark project.
“The successful completion of this scheme strengthens our expertise in the education and commercial sectors, and we are now targeting similar-sized projects as part of our ongoing expansion strategy.”
