A riverside base for a bingo firm, a modern makeover for a consumer health giant and a flagship office on a former brewery site have been named the best places to work in the North.
The British Council for Offices (BCO) singles out the coolest workplaces every year through a series of regional awards, which have this year been held online as part of the BCO’s Festival Awards Week.
The BCO has now held the Northern Awards as part of the event, recognising the highest quality developments in the 海角视频 and sets the standard for excellence in the regional and national office sector.
READ MORE: {}
The Beam and Tombola House, both in Sunderland, and the RB Science and Innovation Centre in Hull have been named among the winners.
Tombola House, home to online gaming software business tombola, was named the best corporate workplace, two years after the major employer moved its staff in.
The building makes a dramatic change to the Sunderland skyline, sitting next to the firm’s current headquarters, a former bonded warehouse dating back to the 1700s.
The BCO judges praised Tombola House for its balance of corporate culture and social responsibility, saying the firm’s commitment to wellness and the local community is embedded throughout its design.
The building, the European HQ for the gaming company, marks the first phase of a wider campus development as it has this week submitted plans for further expansion.
Most Read
Meanwhile, the best commercial workplace was won by The Beam, Sunderland, which opened last year and welcomed in Ocado as its main tenant.
The striking building acts as the centrepiece of the wider Riverside Sunderland regeneration scheme of the former Vaux brewery site, with judges saying it was a “brave and impactful project that has reset expectations and aspirations for the city”.
In Hull, the £105m RB Science and Innovation Centre scooped the award for best refurbished/recycled workplace, with the judges deeming its fusion of old and new a resounding success.
The building is RB’s largest facility and was a significant investment for the multinational healthcare provider - an investment which, the BCO judging panel felt, has seen new life breathed into some of their older buildings, matched with an entirely new facility.
The judges said the development has reinvigorated how employees and the local community interact with the space.
Phil Doyle, chair of the BCO Northern Committee and director at 5plus Architects, added: “The North of England has some of the most creative and progressive office spaces in the world, and it’s always brilliant to see them placed on a national stage each year with the BCO awards.
“Competition was fierce this time around, and the ambition and the vision of the teams behind each winning workplace is readily apparent. Despite challenges presented by the pandemic, we’re still seeing the industry produce some exceptional examples of workplace design, so we look forward in earnest to the 2021 awards.”
Ian Aldous, director at Arcadis and chair of BCO Northern judging panel, added: “As ever, our entrants demonstrated approaches which mirrored the forward-thinking, occupier-first attitudes that employees now actively seek out from their workplaces. It is clear from this year’s awards that sustainability and employee wellness are not to be treated as ‘trends’, and will very much become par for the course within the future of office design. This continued emphasis on wellbeing and health is greatly pleasing to the panel.”