BDP has triumphed at this year’s RICS regional awards, winning two of the Design and Innovation categories. The new Store Support Office for retailer B&Q won the award in the South East region, while Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham won in the West Midlands region, and also went on to win Project Of The Year from the 32 projects entered across the region.
The first patients moved into the super hospital in June 2010. The hospital, set to revolutionise healthcare design, provides 1213 beds as well as an A&E department, specialist burns and transplant wards, a decontamination suite and 30 operating theatres. The design focuses on the concerns of the individual patient and supports the efficient provision of the best possible clinical service in an environment that is attractive and uplifting, not only for patients, but also their visitors and the staff who provide their care.
Chairman of the RICS West Midlands judging panel, Roger Stone, said: “The Queen Elizabeth Hospital was an entry superb in design, execution, function and use. The entry list’s merits including flexibility, care and service all under one roof, energy efficiency, a pedestrian-friendly approach and good visitor access. The building is iconic and makes an impressive statement and the project is more than deserving of the Project of the Year title.”
B&Q’s Store Support Office in Eastleigh, Hampshire opened in June 2011 and brings together 1,400 staff from three separate sites into one main office, providing its UK stores with technical support for product sales.
The judges said the building demonstrates dynamic and innovative thinking and provides a visionary workspace that fosters dynamic cohesion and open communication. They commented: “The brief was to create a variety of working and meeting spaces to encourage communication between staff and increase performance. The atrium entrance forms the heart of the building, off which the various elements radiate, including business centre, warehouse, cafeteria, main staircase, offices and meeting rooms. It is the juxtaposition of several innovative approaches to the workplace that successfully provides a dynamic working atmosphere.”
Both of these projects will now be automatically entered into the RICS national awards, where they will compete against other leading projects from across the UK later this year.
In addition, the RIBA award winning City Campus for the University of Wales Newport, won a highly commended award in the regeneration category in the Wales region.