One Cathedral Square scoops award

One Cathedral Square, the building at the heart of Blackburn’s new Cathedral Quarter, has won an award at the Local Authority Building Control Building Excellence Awards.
 
The development won the best large commercial building and saw off stiff competition from 11 other competitors.
 
They included the Monsoon Forest building at Chester Zoo and First Street in Manchester, which is part of the new complex featuring the Arts Centre HOME.
 
The announcement was made on Friday (April 15) at a special event held at the Macron Stadium in Bolton – home to the Bolton Wanderers.
 
Judging was based on a number of criteria including good project team work, design, craftsmanship and architectural merit of the project as well as technical innovation.
 
The sustainability of the building that has been graded as ‘Excellent’ by BREEAM  the world’s leading sustainability assessment for buildings and projects was also considered
 
Around 600 people, including finalists made up of local and national construction industry firms, as well as the region’s local authority building control staff, attended the awards ceremony.
 
The awards celebrate excellence in construction from a technical building control point of view and recognise the design and construction teams that come up with innovative and creative solutions.
 
Occupying a prominent position fronting the new Piazza Square and adjacent to the railway station and new bus interchange,  One Cathedral Square provides Grade A office accommodation in a state of the art building.
 
The five-storey building with impressive ground floor reception was designed by architect, Gary Wilde at BDP, Manchester with Maple Grove Developments as the developer and constructed by Eric Wright Construction.
 
The development is the result of a partnership by Blackburn with Darwen Council, Blackburn Cathedral and Maple Grove Developments.
 
Harry Catherall, Chief Executive of Blackburn and Darwen Council, said: “We’re delighted that One Cathedral Square has been recognised in these awards and I’d like to offer my congratulations to the team that have helped drive the project.
“One Cathedral Square is a fantastic modern building and one that demonstrates the ambition of this project and the town that is undergoing a multi-million pound regeneration. 
“We believe that awards like this can only cement our position as a place that is thinking wider, bigger and bolder in everything it does.” 
 
John Wilson, managing director of Eric Wright Construction, said: “We pride ourselves on delivering high quality projects and working collaboratively with the design and supply teams to ensure building works are delivered on time and within budget. It’s always an honour to receive an industry award, so to get two on the same night is fantastic.”
 
Roy Benyon , LABC’s North West Regional Chair said: “The awards are an opportunity for us all to celebrate the very best construction in the region, recognising the high level of skill and professionalism the building industry is capable of reaching. And many of the nominations have come from strong partnership arrangements with LABC teams.”
 
The building will now be entered into the Grand Finals, which will be held on Monday, November 28 at the Westminster Park Plaza in London.