The Kirkwood Timber Frame team was honoured to play a part in DIY SOS’ BIG build - in aid of The Joshua Tree - as part of this year’s Children In Need (CIN) campaign.
The Joshua Tree is a charity dedicated to supporting families affected by childhood cancers. In this article, we talk with Malcolm Thomson, Neil Allardice and Chris Smollet about the build – which DIY SOS has confirmed is the biggest in its history – and why Kirkwood Timber Frame got involved.
The new building was an extension to the existing property that the Joshua Tree operates from but that needed to be bigger. This would allow the Joshua Tree to provide additional counselling rooms, family overnight accommodation, a flexible family communication room and communal space on the ground floor. On the first floor, additional storage was to be provided - alongside two additional wellness rooms, an all-important Gym area and a lift to the upper floor.
From a timber frame perspective, this meant 360m² of building spread over two floors and included vaulted ceilings, a double height stairwell, large, glazed gable walls and over four tons of steel. The design incorporated pre-insulated wall panels up to 3.6m high, floor and flat roof cassettes and pitched pre-insulated roof cassettes.
Malcolm says: “It was a privilege to be part of this project and no matter the trials and tribulations along the way, this paled into insignificance compared to those faced by the children and families who access The Joshua Tree. Their resilience is inspiring.”
From the outset, with a build of this magnitude, the design and planning phase was critical.
Malcolm continues: “The project had its own unique quirks, which added complexity, required careful coordination and precise logistics. Deliveries had to be perfectly timed to align with the tight and truncated construction schedule.”
Neil added: “It really emphasised the speed of build benefits of the timber frame system. To put the build into context, a bespoke project of this scale would usually take at least six weeks in the design stage - and around 10 days to build. On this occasion, the timber frame structure was erected and weather tight within just two days. “
Chris says: “Logistics played a significant role in the success of the build. Deliveries had to be timed perfectly to align with the construction schedule. Typically, deliveries would be planned on a daily or weekly basis, but for this project we took it a step further. Malcolm, Neil, and I were managing the build and delivery schedule hourly.”
Malcolm shares: “There were fleeting moments where I thought, this is just not feasible - usually at around 4:00 in the morning when I was waking up with a cold sweat!” Neil and Chris echoed this sentiment, with Chris adding: “I will admit this one was keeping me up from time to time - it felt a bit Mission Impossible at times!”
Yet, amidst the challenges, Malcolm, Chris, and Neil attributed the power of collaboration as being a key factor in the project’s delivery:
“It's amazing what you can do if you're all working together and individuals or businesses are not in a mindset of defending a - or their - position.” Says Malcolm, “Everybody involved in each aspect of the overall project came together. Everybody had the one goal and that was to crack on and get this done.”
Of helping manage the build process on site, Neil says:
“To witness so many different companies and trades people working towards a shared goal - under tight and challenging time constraints - has been both overwhelming and heartwarming. The can-do attitude and ability to overcome challenges was impressive.”
Malcolm agreed: “The whole Kirkwood Team - as well as our supply chain partners - pulled together, with many taking the initiative, thinking on their feet and, on occasion, supporting with issues that wouldn't necessarily be within their role or remit.”
Neil added: “Granted there were many hands on-site, to make light weight, but I think the speed at which the frame was erected and weather tight was a huge factor in the project being able to be delivered in such a short time frame.”
Chris agreed: “The success of the project hinged on utilising methods of construction that could accelerate the build programme, accompanied with exceptional planning, time keeping, communication and a willingness to think outside of the box and problem solve when issues arose.”
Malcolm says: “To ALL involved, thank you! It’s moments like this that provide perspective and reflection and demonstrate the power of community within business.”
📺 About DIY SOS Children in Need:
DIY SOS: The Big Build (BBC One) joined forces with BBC Children in Need to deliver large-scale community projects for charities across the UK. With presenter Nick Knowles at the helm, and powered by tradespeople, suppliers and volunteers, these special builds give crucial support to organisations helping children and young people through some of life’s toughest times.
