{"id":188608,"date":"2025-10-09T18:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T18:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/188608\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T18:00:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T18:00:11","slug":"big-name-practices-pick-up-british-council-for-offices-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/188608\/","title":{"rendered":"Big-name practices pick up British Council for Offices awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Held on Tuesday (7 October), the event saw Corstorphine & Wright\u2019s Northampton headquarters for Unusual Rigging<\/a> receive the top Best of the Best award, as well as the prize for best corporate workplace.<\/p>\n

Unusual Rigging<\/a> was chosen for achieving the \u2018very highest energy performance rating\u2019 as well as being built on the values of the circular economy, judges said. Corstorphine & Wright described the office as a testbed for these principles, creating a building that can be dismantled and reused at the end of its lifespan.<\/p>\n

Bennetts Associates\u2019 new Edinburgh Futures Institute took home the Innovation award, while AHMM\u2019s Norton Folgate redevelopment won for the best Refurbished\/Recycled Workplace award.<\/p>\n

Bennetts restored a category-A-listed hospital, the Old Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, turning it into the new Futures Institute for the University of Edinburgh. The 20,000m2 space was converted into a modern teaching facility and events venue. Judges highlighted the painstaking excavation under the main concourse to form a new auditorium.<\/p>\n

AHMM\u2019s masterplanned Norton Folgate scheme was delivered in partnership with Stanton Williams, Morris + Company, and DSDHA. It transformed a neglected site near Liverpool Street Station into six office buildings. The judges awarded it the Refurbished\/Recycled Workplace prize for \u2018weaving together sensitive restoration\u2019 while \u2018championing circular economy principles long before they became industry buzzwords\u2019.<\/p>\n

The work to renovate the conservation area site involved lifting the historic cobble streets during the development process, before relaying them after completion.<\/p>\n

This year, a new Customer Experience category was divided into two awards and focused on \u2018how well the UK\u2019s offices are serving the people that occupy them\u2019.<\/p>\n

The Customer Experience \u2013 Corporate Occupier \u2013 award was won by NatWest\u2019s new office at 250 Bishopsgate, designed by LOM Architecture. Judges described it as \u2018an exemplar of operational best practice for insight-led customer experience\u2019, with the preferences of 9,000 employees surveyed and considered in the design strategy.<\/p>\n

The Customer Experience \u2013 Commercial Landlord \u2013 award went to the GPE Woolyard office conversion, by Cowie Montgomery Architects. Hailed as a \u2018game-changer\u2019 by the panel, the project was praised for its simplicity and \u2018steam-punk\u2019 aesthetic with integrated public realm that creates a \u2018human-centred service\u2019.<\/p>\n

Make Architects founder Ken Shuttleworth was given the President\u2019s Award for what judges described as his \u2018outstanding contribution to the real estate industry\u2019 over a 50-year career delivering a \u2018portfolio of iconic, innovative and sustainable buildings\u2019.<\/p>\n

BCO president Helen Hare said: \u2018Ken\u2019s philosophy is not just about the architecture of an individual standalone building, it is about creating a place \u2013 one that must have a heart.<\/p>\n

\u2018Ken has genuinely made a difference to our industry. His fearlessness in breaking down architectural boundaries, dedication to bringing through the next generation of architects, while supporting other aspects of the office sector, is why he is the perfect recipient of this year\u2019s BCO President\u2019s Award.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Edinburgh Futures Institute won the Innovation Award \u2013 Bennetts Associates Architects<\/p>\n

Shuttleworth\u2019s recognition comes after Make Architects posted a pre-tax loss of more than \u00a31 million for the second year in a row last month. The AJ reported<\/a> that the company\u2019s workforce had also reduced significantly, with the average number of employees in the Make group down from 165 to 124 in the year ending December 2024.<\/p>\n

In a statement released to the AJ, a Make spokesperson said: \u2018Despite the challenges, Make is now on an even keel, having recruited more people in recent months to deliver on key upcoming projects for the practice. We are optimistic for a stable year of growth ahead.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Held on Tuesday (7 October), the event saw Corstorphine & Wright\u2019s Northampton headquarters for Unusual Rigging receive the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-188608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}