A regeneration project next to Paddington Station and an exemplary fit out in Leeds both scooped awards at this year’s British Council for Offices’ (BCO) Awards. Eastbourne Terrace, London won the Best Refurbished/Recycled Workplace Project and KPMG Leeds picked up a regional award win for Fit Out of Workplace North of England, North Wales &Northern Ireland.

Eastbourne Terrace, National Winner – Best Refurbished/Recycled Workplace Project

Appointed by Wates Construction and working with Land Securities, Stiff and Trevillion, and Fletcher Priest Architects, Stortford Interiors delivered an Interior Architectural Package at 20 Eastbourne Terrace, London that encompassed both core drywall and suspended ceilings in addition to joinery and washroom fit-out via its in-house joinery division, Parkrose. The wide scope enabled Stortford Interiors to manage intimate package interfaces and de-risk delivery with tangible benefits to both quality and the installation programme.

Parkrose designed and installed bespoke washrooms across 17 floors utilising an innovative off-site manufactured solution which provides on-site economies and a superior finish. The £3.5m+ package, also included a reception fit-out, roof terrace fit-out, doorsets, parquet flooring, lockers and a glass-wall.

The 45-week project saw a previously tired 1960s building transformed into a modern workplace, described in the BCO Awards review as “akin to a brand-new building.” 20 Eastbourne Terrace is located directly opposite the new Crossrail entrance at Paddington Station. Stortford Interiors also provided the fit-out to the wind-protected roof terrace, which allows for impressive views over the Central Paddington Business Hub.

KPMG – Regional winner – Fit Out of Workplace North of England, North Wales &Northern Ireland.

Stortford Interiors were appointed by ISG and worked with Sheppard Robson Architects to deliver a highly technical ceiling installation for KPMG at their new central Leeds location, Sovereign Street.

The 16-week project involved a variety of ceiling finishes and fabrics at a cost of £1m. Working in close conjunction with the KPMG team Stortford Interiors designed, supplied and installed striking circular GRG feature rafts to common areas and slatted feature corridor ceilings to provide a contemporary office environment.

The design approach specified the use of sustainable materials, which helped the building to achieve a SKA Gold and BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating. The overall fit-out separates KPMG’s client areas both physically and acoustically from those of their staff and allows visitors to the building an intriguing ‘behind the scenes’ glimpse of what’s going on.

Speaking about both projects, Scott Shearing, BD & Pre-Construction Director of Stortford Interiors said: “It’s a great honour for two of our projects to be recognised at the BCO Awards. The transformative nature of our work has allowed us to help change two very different spaces, one in London and one in Leeds, into workplaces suitable for the 21st century with strong sustainability and wellbeing credentials.

“The wide-ranging scope of both projects has enabled us to showcase our products and interface knowledge to provide the best solutions for our clients. The fact that two of our projects have received national recognition at the BCO Awards is testament to everyone who worked on them.”

The BCO Awards provide public recognition for top quality design and functionality in workplaces and were established in 1992. The award ceremony for the 2017 awards took place on October 3rd in London and was attended by more than 1,300 of the country’s top developers, occupiers, architects and designers, who had previously won their category in the 2017 regional awards programme.  The closing date for entries for next year’s awards is November 24th 2017.