The Boardwalk at Mercia Marina has been named Britain’s Best Small Commercial Building at the Grand Final of the LABC Building Excellence Awards – one of the most prestigious events in the building industry’s calendar.
The announcement follows successes at the East Midlands regional LABC award ceremony in July, where The Boardwalk was also voted overall winner among all categories.
At the national award ceremony in London this week, the marina’s £1.7m Boardwalk development beat the likes of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, in London, which was designed by world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid.
A panel of industry experts judged a list of the highest quality projects from around England and Wales to reward the best in technical innovation, sustainability and design.
The Boardwalk, which was built for Mercia Marina by Derby-based Davlyn Construction, opened in October 2014 and consists of boutique shops and offices with a two storey bar and restaurant.
The judges were impressed by the lengths the team had gone to, including the production of a brand new type of timber cladding to achieve the rough time-worn appearance that was required.
Robert Neff, general manager at Mercia Marina, near Willington, South Derbyshire, said: “We are truly overwhelmed to not only have won the regional award but to have gone up against some hugely iconic competition to take the national award too. It’s a stunning achievement.
“This is great recognition indeed for all the careful thought and hard work that went into constructing a building that, first and foremost, needed to sit comfortably within the natural environment of the marina.”
Mr Neff added that the success of The Boardwalk was thanks in part to the excellent working relationship between the marina, South Derbyshire District Council and Davlyn Construction.
LABC, which holds its building excellence awards annually, represents all local authority building control teams in England and Wales.
LABC Chief Executive Paul Everall said: “This project is an excellent example of how a building can reflect the environmental context in which it is located. The development fronts onto a raised wooden walkway offering terrific views of the water, boats and wildlife and the prows of boats have been incorporated into the final design. The result is a beautiful building that encompasses sympathetic and innovative design in addition to providing excellent facilities to the local area.
“Our building excellence awards are an opportunity for the trade to celebrate good practice. Our winners demonstrate how positive working relationships with local council building control teams achieve high quality, sustainable buildings. Our awards are unique because they recognise how this cooperation improves building standards and professionalism across the industry.”
The leader of South Derbyshire District Council, Cllr Bob Wheeler, said: “We are delighted with the success in these prestigious national awards.
“It recognises the role played by our Building Control team in maintaining good communication between all of the parties involved. Strong cooperation between our team, the architect and the construction company provided the sound foundation for an award-winning project.”
The Grand Final of the LABC Building Excellence Awards took place on Tuesday, November 10 at the Lancaster London hotel, and was hosted by comedian and impressionist, Jon Culshaw. Over 650 building industry professionals including contractors, architects and engineers attended the celebration to find out which projects won across the 14 hotly contested categories.
