Robert Woodhead Limited, a Nottinghamshire Construction Contractor has received three more industry awards for excellence. The Heritage Skills Centre has received an LABC (Local Authority Building Control) Award for Best Small Commercial Building. The European Regional Development Fund and Lincolnshire County Council funded BREEAM Very Good Heritage Skills Centre is the first new build development within the grounds of Lincoln Castle for over 100 years.
The contemporary design of the Heritage Skills Centre had to be sympathetic to the historic setting, and be sustainably constructed to reduce energy and carbon consumption. The site team worked closely with the Castle Management Team to ensure that the Castles working operations were not effected by the building works. The Heritage Skills Centre will now go forward to the National LABC Awards held in London later this year.
LABC Chief Executive Paul Everall said that the winning project “demonstrated how attention to detail and a positive working relationship with Building Control departments can achieve high quality and sustainable buildings fit for the future. This was a challenging project in the heart of Lincoln’s heritage district. The building delivers top quality training facilities along with a modern accessible visitor centre. The high quality of the construction, technical innovation and low energy use should be commended and this award recognises the effective working relationships all round.”
The Heritage Skills Centre also won the award for the New Build of the Year 2012 at the National Federation of Builder (NFB) Annual Awards in London. The National Awards recognise some of the best achievements in the industry and demonstrate how construction contractors have to overcome barriers, to deal with the changing world of construction.
Completing the hat trick was Cross Street Eco Town Development in Gainsborough which won the Committed to Sustainability and the Environment Award. The Code for Sustainable Homes level 5 Development which is being monitored for two and a half years for energy performance in use scooped a sustainability award earlier in the year and the latest NFB award recognises the commitment to build smarter spaces for tenants by monitoring energy consumption in use which will help to tackle the growing issue of fuel poverty.
Fay Paterson Business Development Manager at Robert Woodhead Limited commented on the diverse projects. “It is a great achievement to gain such recognition both at local and national level. The multi award winning projects show a real strength in the depth of experience which Robert Woodhead Limited offer. The Heritage Skills Centre development demonstrated that new, highly sustainable buildings can be delivered in historic settings. The Cross Street Eco Town Development was particularly innovative, the energy consumption of the scheme will be monitored for two years and the data will be used by all project partners to build smarter buildings for tenants in the future. I would like to thank all our project partners for their hard work and dedication to making these projects so successful.”
NFB Chairman David Parsons summarised, “The annual awards are a showcase of all that is special about our industry. Each project has a real story behind it, a real vision and real determination, above all, a real desire to do the best with what is available, to find ways around the challenges and to keep on producing fantastic buildings. These awards give us, the opportunity to celebrate those achievements and to remind us all that the industry is alive and well”
Photo:
Left to right Glenn Slater, Mathew Hall, Rob Green, Alistair Taylor, Mary Powell, Michael Broadhurst, Peter Winson, Anthony Leach, Hayley Valance, David Ashworth and Craig Pygall celebrating a successful evening.