HND Construction students from South Eastern Regional College’s Lisburn campus have benefited from the knowledge and expertise of Graham Construction and Lisburn City Council, after they were approached to develop a creative concept for the Lagan Corridor Area.
Kim McCoy-Johnston, SERC Construction lecturer explains: “Both the
HND and
HNC Construction students were invited by Lisburn City Council to generate new ideas for a commercial enterprise to be sited within the Lagan Corridor area.”
Recently, the students unveiled their proposals from the design project, and presented their concepts to Nuala Griffiths, Community Liaison Officer for Graham Construction and Suzanne Lutton, Lagan Corridor Regeneration Manager for Lisburn City Council.
Both Nuala and Suzanne, who have been supervising the semester-long project, were so impressed with the concepts that they nominated a group from each class to be put forward for the SERC Excellence in Project Work Award.
The award for ‘Best Concept’ was presented to construction students Mark Armstrong, Christopher McCauley, Andrew Mulholland and Steven Temple, for their concept of ‘The Island Farm’. This group of students were also given the highest Considerate Constructor score for their project plan by Nuala Griffiths of Graham Construction.
Suzanne Lutton from Lisburn City Council explains the concept: “The idea of an urban farm is an interesting and original concept, and one that fits well within the overarching themes of the Lagan Corridor Strategic Framework.
“The students showed strong consideration towards the natural environment with the design of their building following the natural bend of the river. The use of natural stone cladding brings an attractive heritage feel to the site and fits in with the location of the development next to Drum Bridge.
Kim McCoy-Johnston, SERC Construction lecturer explains: "Feedback from the project has been very encouraging with students stating that they really enjoyed the chance to get involved in a hands-on project.
“Live projects like this are a wonderful way of engaging students in different activities relating to construction. The challenge has given the students the chance to work to a real-life brief and budget and the unique opportunity to showcase the skills and expertise they have learnt whilst studying at the College.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lisburn City Council and Graham Construction for their help and support throughout the year.”
