The academic building was awarded "Building of the Year" in the
awards, which focused on commercial property in the South West of
the UK. It is an impressive scoop for a building that, quite
rightly, everyone is very proud of.
Sam Lydon-Drake, Operations Manager at INTO University of Exeter
and the centre's lead on the project, said, "We are really proud of
the new centre and the award just reflects the quality of the
building. The project was hard work but the results are fantastic
and the building complements the surrounding University facilities.
Students and staff are enjoying the space and the exceptional
facilities match the exceptional teaching that we offer."
The award was announced at a Gala Awards dinner earlier this
summer, and presented by local celebrity and veteran broadcaster
Judi Spiers.
Judges praised the building for the project's high quality and
the extent to which the centre blends into the buildings around it
and the space constraints without losing the contemporary feel. The
sympathetic yet highly striking building was considered to have
displayed innovative solutions for the space, with the egg-shaped
lecture "pod" and huge glass climate wall that dominate the
building were both singled out for special mention. Last but not
least, the judges also commented on the finish and the bold
furnishings.
The awards allow the property professionals the prestige of
recognition by their peers and some high-profile coverage of the
building in the region's newspaper, the Western Morning News.
The coveted award is yet another accolade for the INTO property
team, who have overseen the developments at INTO University of East
Anglia, INTO Queen's University Belfast, UEA London and are
currently working on projects at INTO Newcastle University and INTO
Scotland.
Martin Ebdell, Director of Construction for the team said,
"Every one of our partner universities are different, which means
that each of our centres have a different design. Each has to sit
comfortably within the campus and wherever possible, we use local
design teams. Of course, the thing that all of our centres have in
common is a focus on providing the very best facilities for
students. We're delighted that the hard work of everyone involved
in the INTO University of Exeter project has been recognised with
this award."
The Michelmores and Western Morning News Commercial Property
Awards is the region's premier commercial property competition,
showcasing the very best in West Country commercial property
projects, buildings and people. The categories are designed for
commercial property projects of all shapes and sizes.
Previous big name winners for the awards' "Building of the Year"
have included Jamie Oliver's 'Fifteen' restaurant in Cornwall,
Exeter's Sandy Park Stadium, the University of Plymouth's Roland
Levinsky Building and the Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter.
Above: representatives for the centre and the companies
involved in the design and construction of the building show off
their awards. Sam Lydon-Drake from INTO University of Exeter and
Martin Ebdell from INTO's property team are third and fourth from
the left respectively.