Watch our 2021 wrap-up video here!

It’s been a big year for Hydrock: from energy transition to the future of data centres to reimagining the high street, we’ve not shied away from stepping up to examine some big and important themes making headlines in the built environment.

During 2021, we committed to go net zero by 2030, our people attended COP26, our people and projects won 11 awards and we hosted 6 webinars. We continued our pledge to being a force for good as our teams were able to roll up their sleeves and embrace an in-person Day Off For Good Causes once more, volunteering to help a great cause in their local communities.

We also welcomed back Hydrock’s famous Challenge Day, safely gathering a large number of our 700-strong team at our headquarters near Bristol for a fun day of outdoor challenges and games, and crucially, a chance to meet many new colleagues face-to-face after over a year of working remotely.

Our 2021 project highlights include:

Vox, Manchester

Our Smart Energy and Sustainability team delivered a forensic whole lifecycle carbon assessment on Vox, a 280-home build-to-rent scheme in Manchester, providing a blueprint for the north-west developer Glenbrook’s ambition to deliver net-zero carbon developments.

Vox is a £70m build-to-rent scheme project that has transformed a disused industrial site into a highly-sustainable development, which will undoubtedly spearhead further regeneration in that area of Manchester.

UWE Engineering Building, Bristol

This innovative learning space scooped both Winner of Social Infrastructure Project of the Year and overall Project of the Year at the British Construction Industry Awards 2021, which was a massive achievement for the close-knit design team that brought the University of the West of England's vision for a state-of-the-art engineering faculty to life.

We joined forces once again with the award-winning project team behind the UKHO headquarters: architects, AHR, main contractor, BAM, and cost consultant Mace, for our client UWE, to deliver full end-to-end multidisciplinary engineering services for a purpose-built 8,500 sq m engineering faculty building that provides 1,600 students and staff with three storeys of laboratories and teaching spaces.

Deaf Academy, Exmouth

Also the winner of multiple industry awards, this exemplar academy promotes wellbeing, inclusion and communication through its carefully designed spatial layout, natural lighting and colour schemes.

The development is made up of a mixture of purpose-built facilities and refurbished existing buildings on the University of Plymouth’s former Rolle Campus, creating a bespoke and inspirational educational environment for over 100 pupils who are deaf or have a hearing loss.

Llys Cadwyn, Pontypridd

Our flagship project in Wales, Llys Cadwyn is a stand-out jewel of regeneration in South Wales’ crown. Our multi-disciplinary engineering services were instrumental in creating this ambitious £42m development that has been the site of a derelict shopping centre precinct for many years.

Llys Cadwyn won big at the Cardiff Property Awards 2020, held in March 2021, taking home the Transformation award and also crowned the top Winner of Winners spot. The judges commented that the scheme had been a social catalyst for positive change delivering over 3,900 weeks of training and employment opportunities and over £8m of social value return on investment.

It was also awarded Development of the Year at the Insider Wales Property Awards 2020.

Wapping Wharf Phase II, Bristol

Our structural designs and innovative engineering provided cost-effective solutions for a new £43m urban village regeneration project on a historically significant site at Bristol’s harbourside.

Designed by Alec French Architects, Wapping Wharf Phase II features 256 new-build apartments for sale and for rent, including 49 shared-ownership, together with six retail units, new public space and an undercroft car park.

Siemens Factory, East Yorkshire

In May, Hydrock was appointed to advise GMI Construction Group PLC (GMI), as part of a number of contracts awarded to firms supporting the first phase of development on the new Siemens Mobility train factory and rail supply chain village in Goole, East Yorkshire.

Having secured a £40m contract to construct what will eventually be an 860,000 sq ft manufacturing plant and 4.5km of rail track needed for connection to the main railway line, GMI commissioned Hydrock in both a specialist mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) design guardian capacity and for fire engineering design consultancy.

10 Brindley Place

Our Building Performance Engineering team are helping transform a landmark office block in Birmingham into professional modern working space for Working Environments Ltd, on behalf of Willmott Dixon and Venture project managers.

The £40 million transformation of 10 Brindley Place will see a complete replacement of the former outdated façades, a new double-height reception accessed from both Oozells Square and Broad Street, open-plan office floors and other amenities.

Symmetry Park, Biggleswade

This £35m scheme at Symmetry Park, Biggleswade, just off the A1, has created 661,000 sq ft of logistics space for the Co-op for a new regional distribution centre to support its expanding food retail business.

Our civil and structural, geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering teams navigated the technical challenges of the site, including its archaeological background and retaining large quantities of topsoil or a new distribution centre and its associated infrastructure, for our client Tritax Symmetry.

We’ll see you for more of where that came from in 2022!