A local firm of architects, acla:works, well known for its architectural and interior works, has been appointed to lead a multi-disciplinary team of eight firms from T&T and St Lucia that will conduct site surveys in ten Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and prepare user requirements and conceptual designs for ten new halls of justice.?The halls of justice are to be developed as part of a comprehensive judicial reform programme in OECS territories: St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent, St Kitts, Dominica, Nevis, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Antigua.
The projects vary from 20,000 square feet to 60,000 square feet. This stage of the project is being funded through a grant from the Caribbean Development Bank and the project sum for this the conceptual/feasibility stage is (US)$500,000. "The study will determine the budgets for the ten construction projects, which will allow the countries to attract international funding," said acla:works' Brian Lewis, who praised the design of the process. Project director, Kevin Magill, said: "Once the consultants have completed their work, their report will be used to identify sources of funding for the future phases."
This phase of the process started in October with the selection of the consortium and is expected to be completed by May 2011. Asked about the rationale for a project relating to new court houses, Magill said: "In some territories, the courts have outgrown their current physical facilities and/or are in need of repair or extensive renovation. "An earlier study had determined that constructing new buildings would be more cost effective as new technologies, such as remote testimony, could be accommodated." According to a release, the acla:works halls of justice consortium was selected against other international firms such as Stantec, OBM International, Genivar, NLBA (St. Lucia) and others.
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The consortium comprises:
�2 acla:works (project leaders and architects)
�2 melon design (St Lucian architects)
�2 BBFL Phillips Engineering (structural eng)
�2 ENCO (T&T mechanical and electrical engineers)
�2 Bradley Paul Associates (St Lucian quantity surveyors)
�2 Ecoengineering Consultants (T&T environmental engineers)
�2 Earth Investigation Systems (T&T geotechnical engineers), and
�2 Development Planning Consultant Services (St Lucian development and environmental planners)
Members of the consortium have just returned from a five-day reconnaissance tour of the 10 states, and have commenced the project by reviewing the selected sites for the halls of justice buildings in each territory. Based in T&T, acla:works also has branch offices in Barbados and St Lucia. The company gained previous experience working on T&T's Hall of Justice.?