Winner

Herefordshire Council and Border Oak Design & Construction

In an age where traditional building skills are fast disappearing, Herefordshire Council was happy to work with a company like Border Oak. The council described it as a leader in a form of construction deeply rooted in Britain’s heritage, while at the same time pioneering the latest technologies.

The LABC has worked closely with Border Oak for a number of years on a wide range of projects. This has led to a strong relationship between the two, and this has enabled LABC to become fully conversant with the forms of construction commonly adopted by Border Oak. It has also allowed LABC to provide swift support to the firm when changes to the regulations were introduced. It is testament to this that their designs were adapted so quickly to meet and exceed the requirements of the regulations.

Runners-up

Bath & North East Somerset Council and BBA Architects

BBA Architects, a medium-sized practice based in Bath, has used LABC since 1992, and in the past five years, it has submitted schemes totalling more than £70m.

The relationship with LABC was further strengthened in 2001 by the Partner Authority Scheme, which resulted in schemes worth more than £15m, in Swansea, Swindon, Exeter and Bristol.

The excellent partnership is made possible by frequent design meetings and technical advice offered by the LABC by phone, email and technical presentations at the architect’s offices.

Huntingdonshire District Council and Potton

Potton has been working with Huntingdonshire District Council Building Control since the late eighties. In particular, the timber frame maker has helped it to compile its type approval certification for timber-framed house designs.

This association continued until they entered into the formal partnering arrangement in January 2001. Partnering suited Potton well, as it made the application process much easier. Potton added that another bonus of the relationship was the fact that all applications were collected from their office, which enabled any problems to be discussed with the attending officer.

Lincs Building Consultancy and Neil Dowlman Architecture Ltd

In 2006, Lincs Building Consultancy teamed up with Neil Dowlman Architecture Ltd. The architect and the consultant had already worked on the pre-application design stage of projects, and this had helped to deliver innovative design solutions with the assurance of regulatory compliance – especially as Neil Dowlman had a good relationship with East Lindsey District Council’s building control staff.

The result is the swift delivery of approvals, thereby saving clients time and allowing schemes to progress quickly to site. The relationship has even extended to site, where staff from the Neil Dowlman have worked with inspectors from Lincs Building Consultancy to overcome issues on site.

London Borough of Wandsworth and St George South London

Part of a 10-year housing and commercial regeneration development on a site that was originally occupied by factories and then left empty for decades, this development has transformed the area into a thriving community.

Weekly site meetings between Wandsworth Building Control and the design team ensured any potential problems were identified at an early stage, and solutions swiftly found. Frequent site inspections were co-ordinated across the range of disciplines on site enabling construction to proceed without delays, and regular meetings helped ensure that the formal application was dealt with quickly.

North Tyneside Council and Ryder Architecture

The 10 years development of Cobalt Business Park, the UK’s largest, has led to a close relationship between LABC and the architectural team. All the projects have been fast track, but on Unit 16 of Cobalt, a project to design and deliver customised accommodation, the relationship became even faster and more responsive.

Throughout the project, LABC provided a project surveyor to check that the Building Regulations were being applied with and inspect them through to completion, allowing a strong working relationship to be forged with Ryder Architecture during the design stage, and Bowmer & Kirkland on site.

Despite tight time restraints, LABC described the relationship as a perfect example of architecture, builder and building control working together, without compromising on quality of design or construction.

LABC Awards 2008