Consultancy of the year

Winner

King Shaw Associates

2005 was only the third full business year for King Shaw Associates which has seen profits increase by 96% on the previous year and investment in R&D and training rise by 400%.

The judges singled out its work on daylight in school design particularly its design for the Radstock Primary Renaissance project where north light in the classrooms, combined with large windows, rooflights and sunpipes achieves daylight factors of over 5%. The building is super-insulated, with underfloor heating from condensing boilers and natural ventilation via opening windows and wind-catchers.

For a small practice the judges were impressed by the time it spent routinely gathering customer feedback as well as monitoring project delivery and business impacts under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality and environmental management systems.

Runners-up

Beattie Flanigan

Highly commended

For Beattie Flanigan, 2005 was a fast-paced year. It relocated to new, modern offices and relaunched its corporate image, attained Investors in People status – the first accredited building services consultants in Northern Ireland and gained a number of high profile projects. It also designed the carbon neutral Narnia, respite log cabin for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children free of charge.

Cunnington Clark

Since Cunnington Clark was formed in 2001 it has grown to employ 21 staff. The practice focuses on sustainable building engineering services design. Recent projects include a waste wood burning facility for Ikea that provides heating and hot water supply to the building and a low energy office complex for the Sherwood Energy Village.

Curona Design

Curona Design has increased partnering arrangements with a new commission for the OGC Government office and repeat work from Gucci and the Imperial War Museum. It completed a major overhaul of its office IT system to allow further strategic initiatives such as flexible home working, knowledge management and inter-office design sessions.

Henderson Warnock

Henderson Warnock maintains client satisfaction is paramount to success and conducts regular research to evaluate its levels of service including project specific questionnaires. In 2005 it completed the transformation of the Old Sheriff Court, the conversion of one of Glasgow’s landmark buildings into a mixed-use development including high spec residential apartments, retail and offices.

Sinclair Knight Merz (Europe)

Sinclair Knight Merz is a global projects delivery firm, wholly owned by its employees. It says its philosophy is simple, it listens to clients to identify their needs and tailors it services accordingly. It works across a range of sectors and works in partnerships with the likes of Tesco, Costain, Balfour Beatty, Merrill Lynch and Laing O’Rourke.