Ancient tradition helped to mark the transition of an historic area of Dundee from a centre of the Jute industry to a student village today as construction firm Ocon celebrated the topping out of the city’s new ‘Opal 1’ student accommodation scheme.
Managing director of Ocon, Clive Williamson, was joined by Gavin Duncan, national operations manager of developer Opal, Nigel Hawkins, Chairman of Court of the University of Abertay Dundee, and Professor Bernard King CBE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Abertay, to celebrate structural completion of the £19.75 million, 498-bedroom student accommodation scheme.
VIP guests were escorted to the top of the building by Ocon’s operations manager, Steve Jerams, to take part in a traditional topping out ceremony which involved the laying of wheat, oil, a yew tree branch and an Abertay memory stick on a concrete plinth with a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion for posterity.
Explained Steve: “Topping out ceremonies are celebrated to mark structural completion of buildings throughout the world but for this scheme we wanted to take the tradition back to its roots. The yew tree branch is placed on the uppermost part of the building to appease tree-dwelling spirits whilst the wheat symbolises abundance and the oil symbolises liberty and prosperity. We’ve updated the tradition with the addition of the memory stick including a talent show reel featuring work from Abertay’s computer arts and animation students, games from the BAFTA-nominated Dare to be Digital Teams and a collection of short films showing life at Abertay in 2010 to make the ceremony personal to this scheme.”
The topping out ceremony marks a significant milestone in the 20-month construction programme which will see Ocon hand over the building in August ready for students to take up residence in September for the 2010/2011 academic year.
Opal has commissioned a public work of art that will take as its inspiration the jute industry heritage so associated with the Parker Street area of Dundee, to provide a permanent link between the site’s history and its future as part of the Abertay campus.
Constructed to ‘hotel standards’, the Opal 1 scheme will be higher specification than most university accommodation buildings, with larger bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms to meet the needs of both students and visiting conference delegates. Conveniently located between the Blackness Conservation area and Abertay’s main campus, the scheme will enhance the calibre of student accommodation available in the city and build on Abertay’s growing reputation.
“This will be a highly significant addition to our city centre campus in Dundee,” commented Professor King, “and it will greatly strengthen and consolidate our presence in the city. I am extremely impressed with Ocon’s progress on the project and the quality of construction. I am sure our students will enjoy living here and I look forward to seeing Opal 1 open its doors to its first residents in September.”
Opal 1 is the first university accommodation scheme for both Ocon and Opal in Scotland but both companies have wide-ranging experience in the sector, which has helped to keep the project on schedule.
Clive Williamson adds: “We are delighted to be in Dundee for our first scheme north of the border and have been able to bring to bear all our expertise in the student accommodation sector. This development sets a high standard for university accommodation and, following the topping out, we’re looking forward to moving forward to the final phase of construction.”