Building has been named subscription magazine of the year at the Periodical Publishers Association awards.

The magazine won the award last week for the second time in three years after beating off competition from Farmer’s Weekly, published by Reed.

The judges praised “a wide variety of well-executed initiatives” that drove subscriptions to record levels in 2004. They said: “The overall strategy cleverly exploited cross-selling opportunities and reflects a creative and entrepreneurial approach.”

At another awards ceremony last week, organised by the Periodical Training Council, Building reporter George Hay was commended in the category for new business feature writers. The judges said Hay wrote “original copy with an offbeat approach”.