Outstanding West Midlands schemes hailed at BCO awards

Office buildings in Birmingham and Wolverhampton have been recognised for their outstanding workspaces in the annual British Council for Offices regional property awards.

Centre City, Energy Systems Catapult and The Colmore Building were all recoginsed in Birmingham, while Marston’s House in Chapel Ash took the honours for the Black Country.

The BCO awards recognise the benchmark schemes helping to set new standards in office design and amenity.

Centre City won the award for Best Commercial Workplace, Energy Systems Catapult took home the Best Fit Out of a Workplace title, while The Colmore Building was presented with the new Regional BCO Innovation award during a ceremony held at Birmingham Town Hall.

Marston’s House was named as winner of the Best Corporate Workplace.

The Centre City reception area

Following its almost complete redevelopment, the BCO judging panel said that 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 had been achieved with simple, timeless and exceptionally cost-effective designs, and praised the building’s contemporary styling which still retains echoes of its 1970’s origins.

The interior of the Energy Systems Catapult

The judges agreed that the ‘workspace lab’ for Energy Systems Catapult was a collaborative and creative space which both encouraged collaboration with the wider industry and provided a centre for debates, conferences and cultivation of ideas.

From a design perspective, the judges said that the careful use of ‘earth tone’ colours found in the city and crisp detailed timber surfaces brought a warm, calm environment that rippled out from the central welcome space.

A valuable investment, the BCO judging panel praised the £3.3m enhancement of The Colmore Building, which it said had turned a good but tired building into a great, modern base for businesses in Birmingham.

Colmore Building

Recognising the changing demands of modern occupiers and the importance of wellness at work, the judges noted, the building now included Birmingham’s broadest offering of facilities for any office building and set a new benchmark for the city in terms of on-site amenities.

The BCO judging panel agreed that Marston’s House exuded pride and encouraged creativity, innovation and a new modern way of working.

By utilising and enhancing the original building, the judges said, it was made fit for purpose as home for a forward-thinking pub operator and brewer.

The judges also noted that the workspace was a marriage of informal workspaces and meeting areas that encouraged agile working with workspaces such as team tables, quiet booths and individual desks. They praised the new atrium and connecting bridges which they said enhance the movement of people between departments and encourage relationships with the wider business.

In particular, the judges were complimentary of the prominent staircase which is situated at the heart of the building, naturally drawing people to its use rather than choosing the lifts, thus reducing energy use for vertical circulation.

Overall, the judges said Marston’s House is an exemplar of how to bring the physical building, workplace and its people together as one.

Judging chairman, Matt Viall, of Turner & Townsend, said: “The impressively high calibre of entries for this year’s awards in the Midlands and Central England has made the task of the judging panel stimulating and challenging in equal measure. All nominees from across the region were of a high standard again and it is always inspiring to see the variety and depth of thought that goes in to creating great workspaces.

“The projects continue to surpass the BCO’s benchmark for excellence in the office sector and it is particularly pleasing that great projects are being delivered in every part of the region and are also being recognised nationally.”

Richard Kauntze, chief executive of the BCO, added: “Once again, businesses across the Midlands and Central England have put forward some incredibly strong examples of intelligent and well executed workplaces.

“With three winners, Birmingham representatives should take pride in their pioneering position on design and creativity in the region. Each building recognised at the awards this year sets a standard of quality for future projects around the UK.”

All winners go on to compete at the national awards in October.