[T]wo building projects based in Eden District are competing for honours at the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Grand Final Building Excellence Awards being held on Friday 10 November 2017 at the Westminster Park Plaza in London.
The projects have already been successful at the Northern Building Excellence Awards winning the Best Educational Building and Best Small Commercial Project categories. Now they are progressing to the Grand Finals to compete against winners from the 11 other regional awards.
At the Northern Building Excellence Awards, the Best Educational Building was awarded to The Outward Bound Trust, near Penrith. The construction team for the project included:
- Atkinson Building Contractors Ltd
- Day Cummins Ltd
The aim of this £3 million project was to upgrade buildings and accommodation at The Outward Bound Trust’s Ullswater Centre to current day standards. Part of the project included works to the Main House at the Ullswater Centre, a Grade II listed building. The project specification included retaining as much of the building’s historic fabric (staircase, ceilings and cornice) and detail with minimal disruption.
Others aspects of the project included:
- A new biomass boiler and chip pellet store building (new build);
- 10 new review rooms/yurts (new build in woodland area);
- New stores kit building facility (new build in garden area);
- New workshop (new build);
- Coach House (Refurbishment and remodelling to existing building);
- Associated drainage and external works to the above.
At the Northern Building Excellence Awards, the Best Small Commercial Project was awarded to Sunbeams Music Centre, Penrith. The construction team for the project included:
- Thomas Armstrong (Holdings) Ltd
- MawsonKerr
- JS Engineering Design Ltd
- Johnsons
- DACS Ltd
- JH Partners
Sunbeams Music Centre is a bespoke sustainably driven new build project set just outside of Penrith looking into the Ullswater Valley. The building is a £2 million music therapy centre which hosts thousands of clients from all walks of life and is home to the Annie Mawson’s Sunbeams Music Trust.
The building’s acoustics were of paramount importance, for example unique acoustic inserts were detailed to go within the lining of the building’s natural ventilation. Integrated into the building are a host of bespoke designed elements to create synergy between the architecture and building use, such as the reception desk formed around the music signature of a harp, green walls giving therapeutic qualities at the entrance and musically derived ironmongery in the form of instruments and notes.
Both projects worked alongside Eden District Council’s Building Control Team. The Council’s Building Control Manager, Alaistair Richmond, said: “We are absolutely delighted that two projects we nominated have reached the LABC Grand Final Building Excellence Awards being held in London. To achieve success on a regional level in already quite an accolade, but being able to showcase the quality of Eden’s contractors to a national audience is a fantastic opportunity and one the companies and individual concerned should be rightly proud of. We wish them every success at the awards ceremony on 10 November 2017.
Each year, Local Authority Building Control in Eden District receives and deals with around 700 building regulations applications. These can vary from replacement windows to housing sites with hundreds of new homes to large commercial buildings. By obtaining professional advice and working with tradesman with the recognised industry qualifications the public can be reassured their building works are carried out to the appropriate standards.
It is now time submit your entries for the 2018 LABC Regional Building Excellence Awards. These are the largest business to business awards in the building control sector and nominations are now open! To find out more visit: www.labc.co.uk/labc-building-excellence-awards
For more information about Eden District Council’s Building Control Service visit www.eden.gov.uk/buildingcontrol, call 01768 817817, or email: [email protected]
