The Civic Building of the Year Awards are sponsored by NPS and were presented by Mike Britch, Managing Director of the NPS Group
The Westgate School, Winchester (Joint Winner)
Client – Hampshire County Council
Architect – In house team at Hampshire County Council
Contractor – Balfour Beatty
This scheme definitely met the challenge of a very difficult sloping site by creating a seamless integration of the new build element to the existing redundant boarding house which has been transformed into the school hall. The site layout creatively enhances the connectivity with the rest of this all through school, the first in Hampshire.
Birmingham New Street Station (Joint Winner)
Client – Network Rail
Architect & Engineer – Atkins Limited
Surveyor – Faithful & Gould
Contractor – Mace
The panel were very impressed with this 5 year redevelopment project as a whole. This project has created a world class transport, shopping and community hub in the heart of a busy city. During the project there were 1000 workers on site working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and managing to redevelop the station whilst a train left every 37 seconds.
Lairdsland Primary School, Kirkintilloch (Winner – Education)
Client – East Dunbartonshire Council
Architect – Walters & Cohen
Structural Engineer – Woolgar Hunter
Contractor – Morgan Sindall
Lairdsland Primary School is built alongside the Forth & Clyde canal and is based on semi open plan teaching spaces off a central hall acting as the spine corridor which provides additional resource spaces to staff and pupils. The flexible use of space within the school allows the main hall to be used for dining, music or other group activities while the main stairs to the upper school area provides additional teaching and seating areas. The design is an exemplar template for other new schools which the local authority hope to build in the future.
Colchester Park & Ride (Winner – Small Building)
Client – Essex County Council
Project Manager – Pick Everard
Contractor – Morgan Sindall
A lovely example of commitment to high architectural standards. A scheme which could have been run of the mill has been enhanced by a creative structural solution, immaculate detailing, and carefully thought through site layout .
HMS M33 Project – Commemorating Gallipoli (Winner – Heritage)
Client – Hampshire County Council and The National Museum of the Royal Navy
Architect – In house team at Hampshire County Council
Contractor – MLUK
HMS M33 is one of only three remaining British First World War ships, permanently docked within Dry Dock No.1 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. By creating the visitors’ entrance below deck rather than conventionally onto the deck first, it allows entry almost directly to the engine room with its high impact audio visual display, and puts the rest of the visit at deck level into context. There has been no attempt to sanitise the below deck spaces. The internal rust has simply been stabilised and left in its raw state which further enhances the impact for visitors. The ship has been fully conserved to accentuate what is original, so that visitors can understand how the ship looked when it went to Gallipoli. The methods used internally are conservation in its purest form, allowing for the interpretation of the character of the ship.
FC United of Manchester Stadium (Highly Commended)
Client – FC United of Manchester
Architect – IBI Group
M&E Engineer – BCM
This striking new stadium for FC United of Manchester is testament to the determination and resilience of the Club in overcoming a range of hurdles. The bold use of colour on the stadium gives immediate impact on the front elevation and the simple palette of materials includes timber cladding, reflecting railway sleepers to show the train company origins of the football club. The reuse of a redundant stand exemplifies the sustainable approach, which is reinforced with imaginative landscaping of the surrounding areas including a new park for the community.
UTC@MediaCity in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester (Highly Commended)
Client – The Aldridge Foundation
Architect – IBI Group
M&E Engineer – Ramboll
Contractor – BAM Construction UK Ltd
This building sits well within the master planning concept for Media City in that from all approaches its identity is clear – it is a creative hub. The black box, the imaginative use of LED lighting, and the distinctive fenestration all used in the design of the front elevation send out a clear and attractive message. This facility is the result of much forward planning and clear thinking about media opportunities and how to successfully integrate with the industry, and with a build cost of only £1600 sq m congratulations are in order for a job well done!