COMMERCIAL WORKPLACE AWARD 

A new building initiated on a speculative basis for commercial letting including buildings that are substantially pre-let or sold on to an occupier. In this category only the base build is judged.

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No 8 is a quintessential ‘City’ building which sets a benchmark for future development in the locality and cities generally. The former River Plate House has been redeveloped into a striking new office building providing the perfect link between the calm of Finsbury Circus and the vibrancy of South Place. This development has maximised the potential of a very difficult site whilst respecting the surrounding heritage context. Traditional materials have been used cleverly to create a contemporary piece of architecture that blends effortlessly into its historic surroundings.

A dramatic and elegant entrance hall links though the entire ground floor of the building to Eldon Street. Two new frontages have been created; one addresses a City of London architectural set-piece, Finsbury Circus, with an elegant calm insertion into the curving elevation to Edwin Lutyens’ listed Britannic House next door. The second elevation incorporates a retained façade onto the busy route to Liverpool Street Station. The building is configured around a central core that adds to the visibility into the floors, rather than detracting from it, and gives access to the large column free office space.

The floor plates are simple but elegant and encourage people to take the glazed staircase to move between floors. The sweeping reception area recalls an urban art gallery and very much feels like a high quality public space. The nine-storey high metal artwork combines with the lightwell, adjoining the glazed party wall, to spread light throughout the upper and lower floors. The new Portland Stone and bronze façades have retained a proportion of the original 1920s’ design. Juliet balconies and frameless glazed dormer windows give a modern touch to the traditional design.

The building is crowned with landscaped terraces overlooking the Circus Gardens and the ever-changing city skyscape. Sustainable touches in the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ building include 160 cycle spaces, photovoltaics, and a grey water green roof. Overall this is a highly intelligent and carefully considered re-development. By releasing the full potential of a constrained City site, whilst respecting the historic setting, this project has increased significantly the net usable area and shows what can be achieved through efficient design.

 Clients:

 Mitsubishi Estate London

Structural Engineer:

Mitsubishi Estate London (Landlord)           

Lendlease 

Quantity Surveyor:

CBRE / Cushman & Wakefield 

Architect:

This building’s vibrant facades provide an entrance statement for MediaCity’s modern occupiers. The use of raw materials, exposed steel and suspended services create an industrial atmosphere appropriate for its digital occupiers.

In what was a strongly contested sector, the judges were unanimous about the winning project. The winning building’s vibrancy, environmental efficiency and dynamic business environment all made it stand out from an impressive crowd.

 Client:

Owner:

M&E Engineer:

AECOM 

Occupier:

Multiple occupiers 

Structural Engineer

AECOM 

Project Manager:

Peel Holdings (Management)

Contractor:

Bowmer & Kirkland 

Quantity Surveyor:

Turner & Townsend 

Investment / Property Co:

Brief Consultant:

Chapman Taylor

Architect:

Chapman Taylor 

Agent:

Edwards & Co 

The Capitol, 431 Union Street, Aberdeen

The refurbishment of the 1930’s former cinema integrates sensitively the old with the new and will help re-invigorate this location. Through the impressively restored Art deco entrance, the building morphs from historic to modern with seven floors of light and open office accommodation.

The Capitol gives a masterclass in high quality building restoration and is one of the finest examples of regeneration in action the judges have witnessed.

Client:

M&G Real Estate 

TUV SUD 

Occupier:

Fairhurst 

Contractor:

Quantity Surveyor:

Investment / Property Co:

M&G Real Estate 

Brief Consultant:

Keppie Design 

Developer:

Knight Property Group 

Architect:

Keppie Design

Agent:

Ryden 

This development was praised by the judges as a delightful new office building which maximises the development potential of a very difficult site, whilst respecting the surrounding heritage. The judges noted that traditional materials have been cleverly used to create a contemporary piece of architecture that blends effortlessly with its historic neighbours on the circus, which they cited as a mark of an intelligent and carefully considered re-development.

 Clients:

 Mitsubishi Estate London

Structural Engineer:

Mitsubishi Estate London (Landlord)           

Lendlease 

Quantity Surveyor:

CBRE / Cushman & Wakefield 

Architect:

Following its complete re-development, the BCO judging panel was impressed how the 1975 Richard Seifert Centre City building had been brought back to life. The judges’ highlighted that despite the challenging spatial legacy of the building, the project had managed to overcome this and maximise commercial appeal, with typical rental increases of 160% since the re-development. In addition, the judges said the fundamentals of access, circulation and daylighting have been achieved with simple, timeless and exceptionally cost-effective designs, and praised the building’s contemporary styling which still retains echoes of the 1970’s character.

Client:

Structural Engineer:

Bruntwood                    

Associated Architects

The BCO judging panel agreed that One Central Square has unquestionably catalysed urban regeneration in this area of Cardiff city centre. It was observed that throughout the building simple architectural principles have been applied cleverly in setting the layout, producing an elegant product which maximises natural light from every elevation and creates flexible floorplates. The judges also noted that the team has achieved remarkable value on this building, keeping costs low without compromising on the quality of the materials or workmanship.

Client:

M&E Engineer:

Rightacres Property Co. / Blake Morgan / Hodge Bank / S3 Advertising / MotoNovo Finance / Milk & Sugar / Entrepreneurial Spark                            

Jaylae Consulting 

Quantity Surveyor:

 Legal & General / Rightacres Property Co.

Brief Consultant:

Rightacres Property Co 

Architect:

Rio Architects