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Two buildings designed by Marsh:Grochowski, the architects who are also designing our new Memorial Hall, have won three of this year’s regional awards presented by the Royal British Institute of Architects, East Midlands, in association with Ibstock Brick and the East Midlands Development Agency.  Our architects’ environmental achievements on these two buildings was stressed.  RIBA’s Regional Chairman said:

There is a strong emphasis on sustainability in the awards, with architects choosing materials sympathetic to their setting and the wider environment.

The following appears on the Nottingham Evening Post website:

Nottingham architects win awards

A Thoughtfully designed new office building on a small triangular site on Nottingham’s Ropewalk, and an imaginative new private house in Lambley, both designed by the same city architects, have won prestigious awards.

The winning designs are the work of Marsh:Grochowski, of Commerce Square.

The awards, designed to celebrate the finest examples of architectural excellence in the region, are presented annually by the Royal British Institute of Architects, East Midlands, in association with Ibstock Brick and the East Midlands Development Agency.

Icon is a new office building fronting The Ropewalk between its junctions with Oxford Street and Regent Street in the Wellington Circus Conservation Area.

It scooped not only a prestigious regional award for architectural excellence but also the RIBA EM Low Carbon Award for Environmental Initiative.

In creating the Icon, two storeys were added to an existing brick base in a design that integrates into the existing streetscape in terms of geometry and materials, allowing a difficult site to be developed.

The award-winning private house in Catfoot Lane, Lambley replaces an original home that was small, dark and poorly planned. The larger property on the same site is modern and light with a strong relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces, taking full advantage of the excellent views.

The highly insulated four-bedroom home features solar hot water panels and a rainwater recycling system. It has a three-storey central space and a flexibility of design intended to cater for the family’s changing needs.

Tony Parr, regional chairman of RIBA East Midlands, said:

It is encouraging to discover the wealth of exemplary, pleasing and creative recent architecture in Nottinghamshire, and bring it to the public’s attention.

There is a strong emphasis on sustainability in the awards, with architects choosing materials sympathetic to their setting and the wider environment.

Jeremy Reckless, regional sales manager of sponsor Ibstock Brick, said:

The outstanding quality of the projects in support of sustainability and the environment made the decision both exciting and challenging.

The annual awards reflect the strong emphasis on regeneration and sustainability championed by RIBA East Midlands, which represents 1,000 chartered architects and more than 150 chartered architectural practices across the region.

East Midlands Development Agency board member Valerie Dwyer said:

The East Midlands is one of just a few English regions that run an annual award scheme and emda has worked closely with RIBA for the last three years to offer special recognition to those design teams that are leading the industry in addressing the challenges of climate change, energy and environmental performance in buildings that must sustain our economy in the decades ahead.”

She congratulated RIBA on an excellent programme that displayed and rewarded the best of architectural practice.

Julian Marsh, of the winning practice, said:

It is amazing. We are extremely surprised and very pleased to win these awards.

All of them were for buildings that had a huge component of green thinking and technological innovation.

It shows how important these are becoming. This is the first time we have won three awards in one evening.