Building for the future

INTERVIEW

Senior Project Manager Andrew Justice updates Salvationist about plans for the new Territorial Headquarters

WHY IS A NEW THQ NEEDED?

The existing building at 101 Newington Causeway is no longer fit for purpose. The building was not new when it was purchased, and the Army has certainly had good value for money out of it, but there are now a whole host of problems with it. The building doesn’t have a future in its present form.

WHY WAS DENMARK HILL CHOSEN AS THE NEW LOCATION?

There is a serious financial advantage in using spare capacity at William Booth College. We own the land, so we don’t have to find a significant amount of money to buy another site. I also think there is a desire for more integration, with an opportunity for a Salvation Army campus at William Booth College that could be greater than the sum of its parts.

WHAT STAGE WAS THE PROJECT AT WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HIT?

Planning permission had been gained in full for the new building, a contractor had been tendered and selected, and pre-construction activity was significantly under way. Contractors could have continued to work through the pandemic, but the decision was made to pause the project. I think it was the correct decision for the Army not to be seen to be spending money on a new headquarters building when the country faced so much uncertainty.

WHAT WAS DECIDED AT THAT POINT?

My role was to come up with options for when the project restarted, which included continuing the existing plans, stopping the project altogether, finding an alternative site or redesigning the building. With these options before them the directors of The Salvation Army Trustee Company decided to move forward with the building as designed externally, but to review the way it will be used internally.

That decision was taken with a lot of deliberation after nine months of research into all the options. We had previously made good decisions about where to move to and the building’s design, and we already had planning approval and were ready to start building. Any other option would have put us back by up to two years and required writing off significant money already spent on designing and preparing the new site. All these factors made moving ahead with the Denmark Hill site the best option.

HOW WILL THE NEW THQ CHANGE INTERNALLY?

We actually started to redesign the interior before the pandemic and moved a long way from the original brief, which was to replicate what we had at the current THQ. A lot of stakeholder input had taken place, and there were discussions with HR and senior leadership, resulting in a decision to explore new ways of working in the space available. So, there will be more flexibility in the way spaces are designed and can be used. We will be moving from a static office environment and there will be a space where people can meet and work in a much more collaborative way than the current building enables. It will reflect modern ways of working and the aim is that staff members will enjoy being there, which should help with retention and recruitment.

HOW ELSE WILL WORKING PRACTICES CHANGE?

Before the lockdowns there was still the assumption that a lot of people would be working at their desks five days a week. During the past year we’ve learnt how to work from home and have improved our technology to accommodate that. People are now saying they want the flexibility of being able to work from home rather than having to commute every day to Denmark Hill. This is a positive benefit that has come out of a very negative situation, and I think we’ve probably experienced ten years of evolution in a one-year revolution. Many people have benefited from being able to work from home, whether that is having less pressure on them or being able to balance family life. It’s not an ideal situation for some, but many people feel that it’s been a benefit and that this kind of flexibility should continue when we move to the new building.

WILL THERE BE ANY FACILITIES FOR VISITORS?

One beneficial aspect will be a café on the ground floor, designed to be open to the public. This will be a space for people who wouldn’t normally come into the THQ building and will give us an opportunity to communicate to the community what the Army is all about. If we offer them a well-priced cup of coffee, they can sit at a table where information will be available about the Army’s work in the UK and worldwide. It is a mission opportunity because there will be messaging to tell them that if they like what they see and want to know more, they can speak to someone at reception and a representative of The Salvation Army will come and talk with them.

WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS?

The old building is sold, subject to the buyers getting planning permission for their new development on the site, and the sale will cover the cost of the new building. The pandemic has added a year to the construction schedule, and we have already seen some cost increases over that period. The contractor is now repricing the project and we expect there will be some adjustments, but we hope to contain that and make further economies that will mitigate any increases in cost. We are confident of reaching our goal of being cost-neutral in the construction and having lower headquarters operational costs in the long term.

WHEN DO YOU EXPECT THE NEW BUILDING TO BE COMPLETED?

Building work recommences in August, and it will take just under two years, so we expect completion in the second quarter of 2023. There will be a phased move in, from the spring of that year through to the summer.