Kings Place scoops top honours at BCO Awards 2009
Kings Place, London has taken the British Council for Offices' highest accolade after being named 'Best of the Best' at the prestigious annual awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House hotel on Tuesday 6 October. It was joined on the roll of honour by five National Award winners and one Innovation Award winner.
The awards, which recognise and celebrate excellence in office space, received a record number of entries in 2009. The National winners were:Best Commercial Workplace: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London (also winner of the Best of Best award)
Best Corporate Workplace: Potterrow Development, 10 Crichton Street / 3 Charles Street, Edinburgh
Best Refurbished/Recycled Workplace: Memphis Building for Student Loans Company, Darlington
Best Fit-out of Workplace: Microsoft Building 5, Thames Valley Business Park, Reading
Best Project up to 2,000m²: Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Headquarters, Balloch
Innovation Award: NG Bailey for Solais House, Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill
This year, BCO judges were looking for projects which showed: excellence in architecture; clarity of purpose; ingenuity; clever design solutions; delivery on time and budget; relevance to business needs; sustainability; and the ability to lift the spirits of those who work in the building and its environs.
John Forrester, Head of UK & Ireland at DTZ, and BCO Awards Chairman, commented: "Tonight's winners illustrate the ever-increasing quality of offices across the board. This year's entrants are a vintage crop, and many of the winners from across the categories are so outstanding that they could have been named 'Best of the Best' in any other year. The level of innovation and ingenuity that we have seen this year gives my fellow judges and I great confidence that the office sector will emerge from the downturn stronger and more resourceful than ever".
Best of the Best winner Kings Place was praised for its exquisite design and clever construction, including the deepest propped basement ever built in London. But Kings Place captured the judges inspiration with its brave approach to regeneration, transforming a derelict site into a standard-setting 21st century office space with public spaces that are immersed in culture and inextricably linked to community. Click here for the full team list.
John Forrester continued: "This year's Best of the Best is a project which changes the art of the possible. Once every decade or so a building comes along which alters the common understanding of what is commercially possible. Kings Place has not just moved the goalposts- it rewrote the book on how commercial property can integrate with the life of a city."
The ceremony also saw BCO President, Michael Hussey recognise George Iacobescu CBE for his outstanding contribution to the office industry. The Canary Wharf Group Chief Executive was honoured with the BCO President's Award in recognition of his contribution to London.
Michael Hussey commented: "George Iacobescu is living proof of the power of determination and self-belief. 20 years ago at Canary Wharf, he defied naysayers who laughed off the idea that the derelict site could ever be anything other than a wasteland to transform it into one of the world's greatest financial landmarks. Still going strong after two recessions, it is more than just financial success. It is an inspiring space for office workers and the local residents too who flock there weekdays and weekends."
For more information about this year's winners click here.