Kendal's Cafe Bar, One Great George Street, London, UK

The Institution of Civil Engineers used an NEC4 Engineering and Construction Short Contract (ECSC) to create the enlarged Kendal's Cafe Bar at its Grade II listed Westminster headquarters, completing on time and within its £650,000 budget in September 2022. Named after the coffee house in Fleet Street where ICE's eight founding members first met in December 1818, Kendal's Cafe Bar demonstrates that NEC's collaborative principles work just as effectively at the smallest scale - and that the organisation which launched NEC Contracts over 30 years ago continues to use it as its default contract for all significant works to its own premises.

A new cafe-bar at the home of NEC Contracts

One Great George Street in Westminster has been the headquarters of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 1913, and is now one of London's leading conference and events venues - winning three best venue awards in 2022 alone. The project involved enlarging the existing lower-ground-floor cafe-bar by removing the adjoining brasserie and absorbing an adjacent function room, replacing all furnishings, fittings, catering equipment and mechanical and electrical plant to create a more flexible, efficient and attractive lounge and dining area for ICE members and visitors. The facility was renamed Kendal's Cafe Bar to mark the 204th anniversary of ICE's founding.

The work was let to Claremont Group Interiors under an NEC4 ECSC. Phil Ackers, head of building services at One Great George Street, says NEC is the institution's standard contract for all significant building refurbishment works. The ICE launched NEC Contracts as a more collaborative alternative to traditional adversarial contracts, so it is the preferred choice for all works to ICE premises. Previous NEC projects at the building include a challenging £6 million refurbishment of a neighbouring office building at 8 Storey's Gate in 2011-12, as well as the £3.4 million Paterson Suite and wider building refurbishment completed in 2024 (also covered in the NEC portfolio).

The ICE launched NEC 30 years ago as a more collaborative alternative to traditional adversarial contracts, so it is our preferred choice for all works to ICE premises. The contract worked well and the project was delivered on time, within budget and to a very high standard.

Phil Ackers, Head of Building Services, One Great George Street / Institution of Civil Engineers

Benefits of using NEC

• NEC4 ECSC provided an appropriately scaled contract for a small, straightforward fit-out, delivering the collaborative principles and early warning discipline of the full NEC4 ECC without disproportionate administrative overhead on an eight-week programme.

• The NEC requirement to act in a 'spirit of mutual trust and co-operation' ensured all site meetings were open and honest, creating the conditions for rapid, collaborative problem-solving whenever issues arose in a Grade II listed building environment.

• NEC's early warning process ensured all problems were surfaced and shared immediately across the project team, avoiding the concealment of issues that can derail short-duration fit-out contracts and protecting the programme and budget throughout.

• ICE's consistent use of NEC contracts for all significant premises works - from the current £650,000 cafe-bar to the previous £6 million office refurbishment - demonstrates that NEC scales effectively across the full range of building contract values.