When I heard they were re-developing the Ashmolean Museum I was puzzled that a major company like BAM would be considered — surely this would be a simple extension? From the moment I set eyes on the achitect’s design, however, I saw all the ingredients to make this the most exiting project of my career.

Integrating a state-of-the-art extension seamlessly with the beautiful Grade I listed Cockerell Building would be a rare and complex challenge for any construction manager.

As Oxonians know, the site is extremely confined. Its location in the centre of Oxford is surrounded by historic buildings making access very difficult.

An endless procession of lorries clogging up a heavily congested town centre was not an option.

All materials were directed through a narrow passageway on St Giles and hoisted right into the centre of our site.

At BAM, our philosophy is that how you build matters as much as what you build. I maintained close contact with local residents by holding evening meetings, issuing progress broadsheets, conducting tours and by inviting them to share their thoughts over a cup of tea. Several did!

Visitors will arrive at the familiar classical portico and pass into an orientation gallery containing an enormous display table and emerge into the soaring atrium with its unusual staircase and huge rooflight, which floods the building right down to basement level with natural light. This could not be seen fully until we removed the tower crane and scaffolding.

We dovetailed the design, manufacture and installation of the new showcases into our construction programme.

Constructing the Japanese Teahouse presented us with an unexpected complication. The Japanese architect, not familiar with UK health and safety regulations, insisted on wearing his flip-flops because he used his toes to hold timber while cutting.

Throughout construction, the museum made amazing efforts to raise donations.

We arranged tours of the site for potential donors — more than 2,500 visitors witnessed our progress for themselves. The fundraisers also organised a ball followed by a site tour.

Not in my dreams did I imagine leading a large party of ladies and gentlemen dressed in evening gowns and dinner jackets on a tour of our building site. It was a great success.

Unusual events far removed from normal construction projects have taken place while building the Ashmolean.

Organising a bangers and mash barbeque on site for 500 members of the public during last year’s Open Doors event for example — all I needed was a tour guide’s umbrella!

We participated in the Three Peaks charity event together with members of the design team, site team and subcontractors raising £15,000 for Oxford children’s charity ROSY. I had an operation on both knees as a result.

A team of 4,000 men and women helped build this museum. 400,000 man hours went into it, along with 820 tonnes of steel beams and more than 5,000 cubic metres of concrete.

We at BAM are immensely proud of our role in the most important cultural landmark outside London.

This building has been designed and built to form a lasting monument for the benefit of not just of us or our children, but for future generations too.

The project has pushed personal and technical boundaries — and has sometimes been sleep-disturbingly frustrating. But, above all, it has been fun.