The new Dogwood Crossing @ Miles Work Room

Ever wonder why some Council projects go really well and some go ‘feral’ with major cost blow outs and contractual disputes?

It’s possibly because at the very beginning of the successful projects the tendering of Consultancy services were well managed! This means the Council took the time to go through a process that focused on value for money vs. price of the service. Putting in adequate time and money into the front end of a project (The consultant fees and client’s energy) can create great outcomes for the community and very competitive tender prices on well defined projects. On the ‘flip side’ seeking cheap consultancy services and delegating client responsibility can put your project at serious risk in terms of design outcomes, cost blowouts and quality.

This little extension to Dogwood Crossing @ Miles presses home the point. The community got a great little facility that is a delight to use and it was built for the budget! There were no court cases, no disputes and no arbitration. Variations were minimal and under the allocated project contingency sum. We all had fun and the Council and community got great value for money! Fulton Trotter Architects were commissioned by the Western Downs Regional Council to design, document and administer this project that was an extension to the facility that was originally built and funded as part of the Heritage Trails Network. The project extended the storage capacity of the existing art gallery, provided superior catering facilities for gallery functions and provided an inspirational space for local artist to meet and work together. The new artist workroom is also used as meeting space for community groups.

The project was procured traditionally as a select tender process after advertising for expressions of interest and was administered by Fulton Trotter Architects who acted as the superintendent.