This year the MIPIM UK Awards celebrated some of the most visionary buildings and businesses in our industry. Here we outline the winners and shortlisted projects that caught the eye of the judges.
VISIONARY BUILDING OF THE YEAR
WINNER: White Collar Factory
WHERE: Old Street, EC1
TENANTS: The Office Group, Capital One, AKT
ARCHITECT: AHMM
DEVELOPER: Derwent London
SIZE: 237,000 sq ft
COST: £76m
KEY ASPECTS: The principle underlying the design of the White Collar Factory is to optimise the climate control benefits of the building’s passive design (tall ceilings, well-insulated façade, exposed mass) to reduce the amount of mechanical air conditioning required. It uses concrete core cooling, with chilled water circulated via pipes embedded in the floor slabs. The cooled slabs provide radiant cooling and thermal mass to absorb heat generated in the offices from computers, lighting and people. It was also one of the first buildings in London to secure a WiredScore rating for its internet connectivity.
RUNNER UP: Hiscox Building
WHERE: York
TENANT: Hiscox Insurance
ARCHITECT: Make Architects
SIZE: 50,600 sq ft
KEY ASPECTS: A decommissioned Soviet rocket sits at the centre of the Hiscox Insurance’s cast-concrete headquarters, with the intention to provoke and inspire staff. While a 12m rocket is clearly the showstopper, the building also features curved concrete floors, open-plan workspaces and plush leather handrails.
RUNNER UP: Francis Crick Institute
WHERE: 1 Midland Road, N1
TENANTS: Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, University College London, Imperial College London, King’s College London
ARCHITECTS: HOK and PLP
SIZE: 980,000 sq ft
GDV: £650m
KEY ASPECTS: Clad in steel, glass and terracotta, the Francis Crick Institute occupies a full city block. The building has been designed to encourage collaboration and interaction among multidisciplinary researchers and is divided into four laboratory neighbourhoods connected by two atriums.
VISIONARY DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR
WINNER: BROOKFIELD
The Canadian giant showed its nous when it bought Hammerson’s London office portfolio in June 2012 for £518m – a deal which analysts estimate has since allowed it to extract upwards of £1bn, before financing costs, of course. Here it is recognised for its work on Principal Place, EC2, which will become Amazon’s headquarters when the 430,000 sq ft development completes next year; the 500,000 sq ft London Wall Place, EC2; and 100 Bishopsgate, EC3, the 962,000 sq ft City tower that is due to complete by late 2018. The 37-storey building is already 40% prelet.
RUNNER UP: HB REAVIS
This Slovakian company made its debut in the City of London in autumn 2013, with its acquisition of 33 King William Street, EC4. Since that time it has bought 61 Southwark Street, SE1, and 20 Farringdon Street, EC4.
The developer was shortlisted for Visionary Developer of the Year for its work on its debut purchase, now known as 33 Central. The 227,000 sq ft BREEAM Excellent-rated redevelopment, which is due to be completed in the third quarter of 2017, was sold to Wells Fargo earlier this year for around £300m. HB Reavis paid £62.5m for the property in 2013.
RUNNER UP: CAPITAL & CENTRIC
“We take mundane spaces and create brilliant places,” is Capital & Centric’s sales pitch. And it’s not wrong. The Manchester-based business, set up in 2008 by former Modus Group director Tim Heatley and Adam Higgins, formerly of Peel Holdings, boasts some premiership footballers among its shareholders and has an impressive delivery rate. Over the past few years the Capital & Centric team has built and sold more than 350,000 sq ft, making it one of the most active speculative property developers in the North West. Current projects include the transformation of the iconic Littlewoods Building in Liverpool into a 250,000 sq ft scheme aimed at the creative industries, and the £200m Kampus project in Manchester.
VISIONARY REGENERATION PROJECT OF THE YEAR
NETWORK RAIL AND BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL FOR GRAND CENTRAL BIRMINGHAM
The development of this £150m shopping centre above Birmingham’s main railway station, which opened last October, has transformed the city, adding 66 new shops and restaurants, boosting footfall for retailers by almost 100% and providing some 1,000 new jobs. Hammerson and joint venture partner the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board were so convinced by the success of the 435,000 sq ft regeneration project that they paid £335m – a 4% net initial yield – to take ownership of it earlier this year.
RUNNER UP: LAND SECURITIES FOR VICTORIA
Land Securities’ ongoing redevelopment of Victoria, SW1, is transforming a once governmental heartland into a vibrant residential and office location where people and businesses actually want to go. While construction work is always going to create a degree of chaos, the end-product LandSec is shaping is providing flexible, smart and green office space. The next major element of its makeover of the central London transport hub is NOVA. The 879,000 sq ft scheme, which will also be the REIT’s new headquarters, is due to complete this year. Alongside the 603,000 sq ft of offices, the development will also comprise 193,000 sq ft of luxury living, 85,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants and almost 83,000 sq ft of public realm.
RUNNER UP: LENDLEASE FOR ELEPHANT & CASTLE
The roundabout from hell, if you are a London commuter. But after years of delays, the regeneration of what was one of the most rundown areas of London is finally taking place. Alongside Southwark Council, Lendlease is working through the regeneration of 28 acres of Elephant & Castle, SE1. The £2bn project, due to complete in 2025, is set to deliver 3,000 new homes, 50 shops and some 6,000 jobs.
VISIONARY ARCHITECT/MASTERPLANNER of the year
WINNER: COFFEY ARCHITECTS
Founded in 2005 by Phil Coffey, Coffey Architects has built a reputation for designing beautiful and intelligently crafted buildings. Projects include refurbishing the noisy and uncomfortable Dana Research Centre at the Science Museum in London into a quiet, inviting and well-lit area, and creating a show-stopping headquarters for U+I, the company formed from the merger of Development Securities and Cathedral Group in 2015. The remit was to turn a Victorian industrial space into an HQ worthy of a developer that puts collaboration at its heart.
RUNNER UP: GLENN HOWELLS ARCHITECTS
When you can design a service station that gets a RIBA award, you know you have vision. Birmingham-based GHA was the architect behind the Westmorland Family’s Gloucester Services at junction 12 of the M5. It is also the architect behind Birmingham’s Grand Central and Yo! Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe’s modular home proposal in Manchester.
RUNNER UP: WILKINSON EYRE
The Olympic basketball arena, King’s Cross Central’s gasholders, the Dyson headquarters, Battersea Power Station – Wilkinson Eyre has been involved with some of the most iconic developments of the past five years. At Battersea Power Station it is understood to have played a key role in attracting superbrand Apple to the south London project. Apple confirmed that it would occupy 500,000 sq ft in the main redevelopment of the old power station in September.
