1) What is your name and what do you do?
Hello, I’m Cristiano and I’m a director in the interiors group at TP Bennett. I lead a team of talented colleagues focusing on all the strategic, creative and technical aspects of workplace projects, from the early feasibility stages to the last inspections on site, and everything in between. Together we work on a number of projects, for prestigious clients in various sectors including tech, legal, financial, and professional services, both in the UK and abroad.
2) What experiences led you to the role of BCO Awards judge? (and/or chairman)
I joined the BCO as a NextGen member, very soon after starting my career over a decade ago. I was fortunate to become involved in the NextGen Committee in London and the South East when it was a new initiative, and I helped the NextGen group grow to its current membership of over 600, including with my stint as Chair. The Awards organisers felt I could bring a NextGen angle, as well as an interiors viewpoint and experience of the booming tech sector.
3) What do you most look forward to when judging?
The obvious answer is that as a BCO Awards judge you get to see the best buildings and fit-outs in the country. This is a privilege that few people in our industry have access to, and is also a great learning experience as it shows how everyone works differently. Some submissions can really surprise you with their innovative responses to the challenges of the location, the brief, and the budget and programme.
4) What tends to excite you, initially, about submissions you really like?
This might sound superficial but the very first thing that excites me is the quality of the submission document itself! Perhaps it’s because I’m a designer, but I really appreciate it when teams take the time to prepare a well-designed submission with eloquent and concise writing, powerful graphic design, and strong photography. Not only does it provoke a far more engaged response from the judges, but it also shows that the team really cares about their project. Obviously, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and this is why it’s essential to visit the sites and see the projects in person – but a good submission is the best possible start.
5) What do you see as a key benefit of entering the awards?
Prestige and recognition are obvious benefits, for the professional team but also the client. But there is a also a less obvious, ‘lateral’ benefit to the whole process. A BCO award judges excellence across all aspects of creating a workplace, and bearing the criteria of the awards in mind right through the project is an excellent compass to guide teams. In short, everyone should approach every project as a potential BCO award winner – it’s a great incentive.
6) What have you learned from judging the BCO awards entries?
Three things stand out. First, that we are very fortunate to work in an extremely talented industry where the competition is impressive, and there is no room for complacency, half-baked solutions, or just following the status quo. Second, that everyone works differently – some projects in particular amazed me with their innovative ideas, often very simple but incredibly effective. Third, it really opens your eyes to the judging process and shows that an award winning project needs to consider every possible angle.
7) Have there been any trends?
Seeing the various shortlisted projects really reinforced the trend that we’re seeing consistently across the industry – that workplaces are no longer just ‘a place to go and work’ but they are hubs for communities of people, they are talent-attractors and talent-retainers, they are flagships and sources of great pride for the businesses that work there, and they don’t have to be ‘boring offices’ – they can be great fun.
8) What have you been most impressed with?
As someone who lives and works in London it’s easy to get sucked into the buzz and hype that exists in and around our capital. But the incredibly high standard of quality in all the regional entries shows that our industry is a very level and competitive playing field across the country. I saw some of the most innovative, forward thinking and creative solutions in submissions outside of London – which is doubly impressive as very often these projects don’t have the budgets available within the M25.
9) As a judge, what are your hopes for the judging process next year? In other words, as a judge what would you like to tell applicants and potential awards applicants about the rigor of the process?
I would say that everyone should aim to make every project the best it can be – start by thinking ‘this project will win a BCO award when it’s complete’ and hold that thought throughout. It is only with this unwavering commitment to excellence that projects can qualify – the competition is fierce and the process is highly rigorous – but having seen the quality of this year’s submissions, I am immensely proud of our industry and I have no doubt that next year us judges will all be ‘wowed’ again!
Sponsored by: Sharkey.
Learn more about these five finalists in the Projects up to 1500m2 category here:
Sponsored by: Luxonic
Learn more about these five finalists in the Refurbished / Recycled category here:
Sponsored by:
Learn more about these five finalists in the Fit out of Workplace category here:
Nigel Clark is Technical Director with Hilson Moran and has been involved in the design and construction of buildings for over 39 years.
His early career was in the public sector, where he was involved in the design of large scale Educational, Leisure, and Court Buildings. Since joining Hilson Moran he has been involved in major commercial schemes for both developers and end users, including some of the tallest buildings in the UK.
Nigel became Chairman for the London and South East BCO Judging panel in 2012. As the Chair of the BCO Awards National Judging Panel in 2018 he describes the judging process as a great opportunity to see the best office buildings that this country has to offer, and a tremendous privilege to receive presentations from the entrants.
Learn more about who joined Nigel on the BCO National Awards Judging Panel.
Book online for the The BCO National Awards taking place on 2 October 2018.
Sponsored by: Jackson Coles
Learn more about these five finalists in the Commercial Workplace category here: http://ow.ly/173930lF0zb
Sponsored by:
Learn more about each of these five finalists in the Corporate Workplace category here: http://ow.ly/dPZ030lEZQ3
In July’s CIBSE issue, Elementa’s Ed Garrod explains the importance of workplace health and wellbeing and the research behind the recently published BCO Wellness Matters Report.
On page 28-29:goo.gl/c2ZTpg
Short teaser snippet of Ed Garrod of @elementa_uk speaking at the launch of #BCOwellnessmatters. Read his latest piece in @CIBSEJournal: https://t.co/VAYVKonn5S
Download the full report: https://t.co/pVSrXIfdIi#wellness#workplacewellbeingpic.twitter.com/fFd0yH0aMn— BCO (@BCO_UK) August 7, 2018
Last month we announced the winners of the BCO Photo Berlin competition run by Art Acumen during the Annual BCO Conference. The overall winner, James Hindle of Tate Hindle received the following comments from the judges:
“A well observed shot and very balanced.”
“Powerful story telling, the photographer alludes to the people behind the façade.”
The inaugural competition awards James with a luxurious two night stay at the Ritz Carlton Berlin (where BERLIN: BE BOLD took place) and a highly sought after Stuart Redler print (examples below)
Working exclusively in black and white, Stuart Redler photographs architecture, people and animals. His eye-catching work derives from photographic excursions throughout Europe, remote villages in Africa, Asia, Greenland and more. Stuart takes photographs of iconic buildings from a unique and innovative view point. The intense contrasts of shades of black and white and his use of strong light gives his photographs a stark and unique quality. Architectural features take on abstract forms. Buildings become landscapes of pattern and texture. View Stuart’s portfolio here: http://www.stuartredler.com/architecture/
Redler has received many awards, including six from the Association of Photographers, who awarded him a Gold Medal in 2000 for his portfolio of Architectural Images. He has also received Graphis, PDN New York and Communication Arts Awards, amongst others. As well as appearing in various private collections, his work is included in the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in London and has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Stuart will be presenting one of his iconic photographs to James at the BCO President’s Lunch in September
The winning image for BCO Photo Berlin also came first in the ‘Diversity’ category, earning James a category cash prize of £150 which he has kindly donated to The Rumba Foundation:
James has been a BCO member for 15+ years. The Rumba Foundation is run by his wife Fiona Hindle. Fiona had been a trustee at the University of Cambridge Veterinary School Trust and about five years ago set up The Rumba Foundation, named after their first Burmese cat.
Mrs Hindle said: “Our remit is to support clinical care for companion animals. We can guarantee that all donations go directly to the causes we support, so we make significant and immediate impact. Since we formed Rumba we have raised almost £100,000 through events using our contacts across the property and construction sector with many of them BCO members.”
“What Rumba is doing is helping change veterinary oncology, no question!” -Professor Nick Bacon, Clinical Director of Oncology, University of Surrey.
“One of the major projects we have funded to date has been buying a C-Arm (above) worth £60 000 which is a live x-ray machine and accompanying lead gowns for the Fitzpatrick Referrals Oncology and Soft Tissue Hospital (FROST). Through our donation this has allowed them to not charge patient owners for the use of the equipment so not only are patients benefiting from the most pioneering equipment, it also means that their animals are having treatment that the owners might otherwise not be able to afford. Most importantly, the world-class oncologists vets at FROST have monthly meetings with the oncologists doctors at the local Royal Surrey Hospital , so there is considerable crossover and learning for animals and humans. It is now the busiest C Arm in the UK and in use daily which is why we recently bought more lead-lined gowns.”
James said “I think what we have achieved shows what a fantastically supportive and charitable sector we work in and many BCO members have played a large part in what Rumba has achieved.”
Join the conversation on social media: @BCO_UK
#BCOconference #BCOphotoBerlin #RCMemories
Visit the Rumba Foundation website and Just Giving Page: www.justgiving.com/therumbafoundation
At the BCO annual general meeting last evening, I was honoured to pass on the mantle of the BCO presidency to Katrina Kostic Samen, founder and managing partner of KKS Strategy. I know she’s got big plans for the organisation.
Before I get back to my everyday life at Make, though, I’d like to reflect on my time with the BCO. Since being nominated to become junior vice president in 2015, I’ve had a fantastic few years with the higher echelons of the BCO. My first task was to help shape and lead the last plenary session of the 2016 conference in Amsterdam; after that it was to organise the 2017 conference in London. A monumental task, I quickly realised!
Despite the plentiful challenges of pulling together a 3-day event for over 500 delegates in a city everyone thinks they know already, I’m confident the ‘London Refocused’ conference was a great success. We had tours of more than 40 workplaces and talks from celebrated designers, experts and thinkers such as Juliette Morgan, the now-former head of the Futures Group at Cushman & Wakefield, former US diplomat James Rubin, workplace transformation expert Despina Katsikakis, and Paul Chong, director of IBM’s Watson Group. And of course Lord Foster as the keynote speaker – an absolute highlight for me and many others.
BCO 2017 opening drinks at Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie © Stewart Writtle
Lord Foster at BCO 2017 © Stewart Writtle
Key themes to come out of the event included placemaking, flexibility and sustainability, as well as the influence of technology and the growing trend of wellbeing in commercial environments. These are all topics we’re thinking about at Make, and I’m excited to see how all of us in the industry can contribute to evolving and progressing them in the coming years.
Since the conference, I’ve visited BCO regions around the UK to meet with the committees, attended key events such as the President’s Lunch and the Annual Dinner, and helped create and oversee the NextGen competition, ‘The Office of 2035’. With regards to NextGen, I think it’s incredibly important for us to bring forward the next generation and provide the BCO with a ‘refresh’ to encourage younger and more diverse members.
In August 2017, during a visit to the Make Sydney studio, I gave a breakfast presentation at Cushman & Wakefield on the key takeaways of the London conference. The success of this event, and seeing how interested people were in what’s happening in the UK, got me thinking about the importance of increasing the BCO’s global reach. It’s evident that we are seen as leaders in workplace design around the world, so we must keep working to remain that way. I think expanding our presence beyond our borders will be an important part of that.
At Cushman & Wakefield in Sydney © Quentin Jones
In February of this year, I also launched the President’s Survey to help shape the BCO’s agenda going forward. The feedback – from BCO members – was incredibly instructive. A number of common themes surfaced, from which we formulated four key recommendations that we presented to the board: Increase gender and ethnic diversity
Explore avenues of greater global engagement
Increase consultation with members
Increase use of technology, including digitisation of the BCO Guide to Specification
Richard Kauntze, BCO chief executive, has said they will be progressing the recommendations in the weeks and months ahead.
At this year’s successful Berlin conference, Katrina announced her plans to focus on designing more inclusive workplaces as well as to push for greater diversity within the BCO itself, causes I both applaud.
As for me, I believe that if the BCO is to remain at the cutting edge of office design, particularly in a post-Brexit landscape, it will have to adapt quickly and be responsive to members’ and market demands.
It of course remains to be seen what the full effects of Brexit will be, but for the time being, I hope the BCO will show the world that we intend to stay a global hub for business, and will keep helping to create world-class workplaces for companies that want to be here.
At next year’s Copenhagen conference, we’ll delve into work-life balance, another important issue in our modern life. I’m looking forward to that as well.
But for now, it’s been an absolute honour to have been a part of this institution, which has formed the bedrock of UK workplace design guidelines for nearly three decades. It’s produced fantastic work over the years, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come, and wish Katrina the very best of luck for the coming year.
Originally published on 12.07.2018
By Ken Shuttleworth on www.makearchitects.com
December 09, 2025 
By BCO Media 