CABE Press Release
Eight projects short listed for the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award
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5 July 2002 | Download this press release (Adobe PDF format, 99KB)
Eight new building projects, including an arts studio, two bridges, a learning centre and a hospital have been short listed for the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award.
Over 65 projects were nominated for the Award, which recognises excellence in design and construction of publicly funded schemes, be they large engineering and infrastructure projects, small community buildings or public spaces.
The Prime Minister Tony Blair said today:
"I am delighted there have been so many high quality entries for this year's award. As the shortlist shows there are plenty of examples from around the country that demonstrate how good quality design principles can be successfully incorporated in a wide variety of publicly funded construction projects, from civil engineering schemes to hospitals, schools and public gardens. We have the biggest public capital investment programme for at least a generation. It is essential that we design buildings and infrastructure of real civic quality that will stand the test of time."
The short list is:
- The City Learning Centre, Bristol
- Conference Centre and Welcome Hall, Earth Centre, Doncaster
- Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle, Gateshead
- Memorial Gardens, Peel Centre, Hendon, London
- Juniper House, King's Lynn
- Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norfolk
- Tamar Bridge, Plymouth
- Persistence Works, Sheffield
Six departmental action plans were also launched at the reception at Tate Modern, as part of the Government's Better Public Buildings campaign. Each government department has agreed to publish ministerial guidelines for the procurement of high quality new buildings. All the plans will be published on a new website, www.betterpublicbuilding.org.uk, which was also launched today, along with a booklet showcasing the short listed schemes for the award.
At the launch this evening CABE chairman, Stuart Lipton said:
"An impressive array of new public building projects have been short listed for this year's Award. These are not all large flagship schemes - the art galleries, stadiums or domes - the majority are community-based buildings that really matter to people on a daily basis.
The judges will be visiting the eight short listed projects, which despite their differences in scale and purpose, all demonstrate that high quality design can, and should be adopted for all public building projects, regardless of size, cost or procurement method."
The Award has been sponsored by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). It is part of the British Construction Industry Awards and will be presented at a ceremony in London on 23 October.
