Major accolade for £30m Colmore Row restoration

55 Colmore Row, one of Birmingham’s most prestigious business addresses which underwent a £30m refurbishment, was among the winners at a property awards ceremony.

IM Properties’ Grade II listed office building was awarded Best Refurbished / Recycled Workplace at the annual British Council for Offices’ (BCO) regional awards, held at Birmingham Town Hall.

The offices for Pinsent Masons were designed by Perkins + Will, while the full Colmore Row scheme was designed by AHR Architects.

Meanwhile, Alpha Works, designed by Orms and occupied by a number of businesses, was presented with the award for projects up to 1,500 sq m.

Alpha Works offers occupiers a workplace that the judges felt had not previously been available outside of London. Nestled high up in Birmingham’s Alpha building, the Grade II listed landmark has undergone extensive refurbishment.

One Friargate in Coventry also picked up the accolade for best corporate workplace.

One Friargate was the first building in the Friargate masterplan to be constructed and offers some of the region’s most modern office space.

Rob Groves, regional director of Argent and chairman of the BCO Midlands & East Anglia Committee, said: “A clear theme has emerged from entries across the region this year – delivering excellence in the face of challenging conditions. This includes everything from working around busy or short time frames for development, considering the public environment, or refitting historic, and often iconic, local buildings.

“Our entrants not only navigated these challenges but used them to their advantage, maximising unusual features of old buildings in new designs and seamlessly linking developments in busy areas with public thoroughfares and train stations. The awards are a clear reflection of the strength of our local offices sector, and the talent that’s capable of making the most of what our geographically and economically diverse region has to offer.”