5 October 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
Norwich's The Enterprise Centre was named as the 'best of the best' workplace at the British Council for Offices' (BCO) annual National Awards in London last night.
The judges praised The University of East Anglia's The Enterprise Centre for showcasing "low carbon and sustainable design at its best". The office was also recognised as the Best Corporate Workplace in the UK, joining a list of six other award-winners cited for excellence in office space.
Judges said the workplace offered a wide range of highly flexible accommodation with incubation and collaborative spaces for new and developing businesses in a building equipped to deliver for the 21st century.
The judges added that The Leadenhall Building, named best commercial workplace, holds its own in the London's 'City Cluster' with its "striking form the result of the elegant resolution of a myriad of issues", whilst the restoration and reformatting of a series of historic buildings to create Alphabeta has created an active and vibrant communal "village".
Outside of London, Sunderland's Berghaus HQ was praised for strongly reflecting the brand's ethos of 'live for adventure' through impressive solutions such as the sky rail and climbing rope staircase, whilst the flexibility of space offered by The Bunker in Liverpool impressed the judges, with the open-plan floor plate giving the space the potential to be split into two, three or four units on each floor.
BBC North, winner of the Test of Time award, was selected by the judges for its quality of design and built-in flexibility, enabling quality content to be consistently produced as occupier numbers steadily increased.
Finally, Portsmouth's LandRover BAR Team HQ won an award for innovation for its highly sustainable and energy-efficient design coupled with an incorporation of impressive facilities such as F1-style meeting rooms and a state-of-the art gym.
The full list of winners was:
'Best of the Best' & Corporate Workplace: The Enterprise Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich
Commercial Workplace: The Leadenhall Building, London
Refurbished/Recycled Workplace: Alphabeta, London
Fit Out of Workplace: Berghaus HQ, Sunderland
Project up to 2,000m2: Bunker, Littlewoods Complex, Liverpool
Test of Time: BBC North, Salford
Innovation: LandRover BAR Team HQ, Portsmouth