Member Article

Three Manchester workplaces triumph at the British Council for Offices’ annual Northern Property Awards

Three Manchester-based businesses celebrated success yesterday with Hanover, PwC Manchester and No. 1 Spinningfields all being recognised as some of the best workplaces in the North of England at the annual British Council for Offices (BCO) regional property sector awards – held at The Principal Hotel in Manchester yesterday (23 May). The prestigious BCO awards programme recognises the highest-quality developments and sets the standard for excellence in the regional and national office sector.

Further to the three winning buildings, 35 Dale Street in the city’s Northern Quarter also received Highly Commended in the Best Refurbished/ Recycled Workplace category.

In addition, the following workplaces won awards across the North: • Janet Nash House, Durham, Best Corporate Workplace, The Innovation Award • Live Works, Newcastle upon Tyne, Best Project Up to 1,500m2

Winner of Best Commercial Workplace, the BCO judges praised No. 1 Spinningfields as a commercially, environmentally and visually successful building. Located on the edge of the Spinningfields estate, the panel described the building as a varied and flexible space suited to a variety of services, delivered with exceptional quality and a comfortable, light-filled environment – recognised by its high-calibre tenants.

Within the same site, PwC Manchester won the award for Best Fit-out of a Workplace. The BCO judges felt PwC had created a new standard for office fit-out with this project, which has succeeded in injecting energy into the 80-year-old tenant business, removing the traditional offices that isolated partners in previous years. The judges recognised the design had taken inspiration from the spirit of the city, with a nod to the industrial worker-bee, the iconic city skyline, the music scene and passion for art, design and creativity and suggested the design be used as a blueprint for the future.

Manchester’s iconic Hanover building, first built around 1905, took home the Best Refurbished/Recycled Workplace award, thanks to its careful restoration and reimagination. The judges noted the project has succeeded in blending the heritage of the site with stunning contemporary design to create 90,000 sq ft of premium office space, fit to be the new home of tech giant Amazon.

35 Dale Street, located in the city’s Northern Quarter, was also awarded Highly Commended in the same category, with judges praising the design’s focus on innovation, creativity and energy.

Phil Doyle, Director at 5 Plus Architects and BCO Northern Committee Chair said: “The standard continues to increase year-on-year, it is a privilege to see such exciting great commercial work being celebrated in our city. As the needs of the modern workforce continue to evolve, it’s great to see that developers and fit-out companies are listening and understanding that and creating environments accordingly. It has also been encouraging, as always, to see the ambition of projects across the north.”

Ian Aldous, Director at Arcadis and Chair of BCO Northern Judging Panel, said: “Across the board, entrants demonstrated a forward-thinking approach to office design that has placed occupier benefit at the heart of the process. These projects have delivered multifunctional spaces to ensure occupiers can evolve and they grow. The judging panel was pleased to see a continued emphasis on wellbeing, present across all the projects we saw this year – from living walls to cycle storage and many things in between.”

This is the 16th year that the Regional Awards have been presented locally in the North of England, celebrating excellence in office space regionally, before all winners go on to compete at a national level at the National Awards in October.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emily Hallinan .