Turner & Townsend

Constructing Excellence for the Midlands Market

Date: 16 October 2009

Leicester-Curve-Theatreclick to enlarge

Turner & Townsend’s ‘Making the Difference’ strap line is clearly resonating in and around the construction industry. The global management and construction consultant is celebrating after two Midlands projects were highly commended at the Constructing Excellence East Midlands Regional Awards. At the Awards ceremony on the 15th October, Leicester Performing Arts Centre (Curve) was short-listed for ‘Project of the Year’ and the William Smith Building for British Geological Survey in Keyworth in the award category of ‘Environmental Sustainability’.

Turner & Townsend client, Leicester City Council had a clear vision to position the Curve; Leicester’s new Performing Arts Centre, as the cultural powerhouse in the East Midlands. The Curve was an ambitious and complex project involving many different design and construction disciplines but has undoubtedly contributed to the renaissance of Leicester by providing a new home for a new kind of theatre, for which the judges commended its unique and interesting design.

The British Geological Survey’s ‘William Smith Building’ short-listed for ‘Environmental Sustainability’, is no stranger to media interest and was formerly opened by Her Royal Highness, Princess Royal earlier this year. It is the first timber-framed open plan office building in the UK to incorporate Termodeck and provides 3,000m2 of open-plan accommodation.

The British Geological Survey Headquarters now incorporates unique features such as cedar and terracotta cladding, rainwater harvesting, gabion walls, sheep’s wool insulation and an atrium covered with ETFE - the same plastic panels used in the Eden project domes, Cornwall, UK.

Harry Hayward, Director at Turner & Townsend’s Nottingham office said, ‘We were delighted to have had two projects short-listed and ultimately commended at the Constructing Excellence East Midlands regional awards. It says a lot about the kind of innovative and sustainable development taking place in the East Midlands which is really promoting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby as interesting cities to work, live and visit, both on a national and international scale.’