Capital Insight is delighted to announce that it has won both the NSW and National 2020 awards in the Construction/Engineering Projects category at the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) 2020 Project Management Achievement Awards (PMAA).

The PMAAs celebrate project management excellence and innovation and we received both ‘Project of the Year’ awards for our project management of the UNSW Lower Campus Sciences and Engineering Precinct – a program of work involving several highly complex technical buildings and many specialised science research fitouts.

This is the third time since 2014 that Capital Insight has won both the State and National project management awards for our delivery of world-leading social infrastructure projects.

The projects that formed this program of works were diverse and technically complex, presenting a challenge to provide high quality and high-end functionality for research and teaching spaces. They required extensive stakeholder engagement to both confirm functional needs and design requirements and to successfully implement them within a very busy University campus. Capital Insight’s work included the careful planning and management of many laboratory fitouts within operating research buildings, as well as innovative teaching spaces, new performance facilities and significant enhancements to student facilities and the public realm – we achieved successful delivery of 98 separate handover milestones.

The UNSW Sciences and Engineering Precinct Program delivered six integrated projects/stages over 7 years:
• new Hilmer Building ~ $150m
• a program of complex laboratory fitouts ~ $40m
• new Science and Engineering Building ~ $220m, including the Io Meyers and Studio 1 rehearsal and performance spaces
• iconic Roundhouse Building refurbishment ~$33m
  significant expansion and enhancement of the Lower Campus Public Domain over multiple stages ~11m.

Capital Insight provided leadership for the planning, business case, design, procurement, construction, relocations and operational start-up activities, with the Program demanding a sustained effort and highly experienced team of resources to ensure an integrated management approach, bringing continual improvement. Cost savings achieved on individual projects were re-invested to maximise value, with broad commendations of excellence from the wide range of client stakeholders.

Our client enthusiastically supported our submission, confirming “Capital Insight initiated a number of unique project management approaches that significantly benefitted UNSW and the project outcomes [and] the project leadership and specific and tailored project management techniques adopted by Capital Insight greatly assisted in the successful outcomes achieved”.

Key planned outcomes that were successfully delivered include:
• delivery of world-class research laboratories to support high-end research and as a catalyst to UNSW’s strategic research priorities, together with associated teaching facilities within iconic architecture;
• optimising shared services and operational innovations on the lower campus, with significant annual cost savings, whilst also maximising the development potential of the lower campus; and
• significantly improving and enhancing the visitor, staff and student experience!