Review of National Children’s Hospital in Dublin: Analysis of Pre and Post Contract Factors and Co

Formative assessment is designed to provide students with feedback on progress and inform development. It does not contribute to the overall assessment;

Summative assessment provides a measure of achievement or failure made in respect of a student's performance in relation to the intended learning outcomes.

Learning outcomes

Appreciate the variety of environmental contexts within which construction companies operate

Understand the importance of briefing the client

Understand the process of selecting the consultants and the contractor.

Analyse various procurement strategies of the building process

Advise on methods of procurement to meet the needs of specific clients/projects and evaluate the available alternatives

Understand the project management process from inception through to completion

Once complete in 2022, the new 165,000m² children’s hospital and associated Children’s Research and Innovation Centre will be heralded as a world class facility for children and young people from all over Ireland, who have complicated and serious illnesses and are in need of specialist and complex care.

At the heart of our competition-winning concept is an oval ward pavilion, set within one of Europe’s largest roof gardens, that gives the hospital an instantly recognisable and friendly identity.

The introduction of the ‘floating garden’ halfway up the building literally elevates the importance of nature and the therapeutic environment, making it a central part of the architecture’s character, quite unlike any other hospital of this size.

The oval’s form alludes to the architecture of Dublin’s best-known civic spaces and buildings, most notably its Georgian squares as well as the nearby Royal Hospital at Kilmainham (Ireland’s oldest hospital, now the Museum of Modern Art), with which the oval is axially aligned. Once the new hospital is complete, there will be open views from the floating garden and the wards towards Kilmainham and Phoenix Park beyond, creating a strong landscape and architectural axis that will ‘ground’ the new building in its context.

You are consulted by an authority to review the National Children’s Hospital in Dublin.

Following a careful review of the project details, you are required to advise the client on the following. Your recommendation will include:

1-An Analysis of the pre and post contract factors that could have affected the spiralling costs of the project.

2-A comparison and evaluation of the effectiveness of cost control methods that could have helped with cost control throughout the life cycle of the project.

3-A review of conflict resolution methods available to the client.

4-A worked-out example of methods of financial analysis (e.g. NPV and Payback method, whole life cycle costing, etc.) to ensure the client return on investment.

This assignment is expected to be a professionally written report of 3000 (+/- 10%) words.  The marking scheme indicates how different learning outcomes will be assessed.  Your report must aim to directly respond to the brief provided in this document using logical reasoning and evidence. The data that you use in your report must be derived from reliable sources, be factual and up-to-date.

This report is also perceived as an academic report and therefore the use of proper referencing and adequate citation of sources in Harvard style is compulsory.

The report must be checked for English grammar and spelling before final submission on Blackboard as a PDF file.  When submitting your file please follow the saving instructions below:

You are advised to discuss your progress with the Module Leader during the tutorial sessions as well as announced (Assignment Support). See Module Study Guide