LABC Building Awards South East Region

The LABC South East Building Excellence Awards recognise and reward the best quality design construction and project management in the South East. The quality stems from good design and an efficient design team, and is translated into quality buildings by an effective construction team. Throughout this process Local Authority Building Control monitors the quality of design and construction. The finalists will be acknowledged as amongst the best projects in the South East.

Nominations can now be made by any member of the design and construction team, the building owner, or by the LABC Building Control Surveyors involved. Each entry must be approved by LABC and include an endorsement from the approving authority. If you have a project that you think is worthy of recognition, speak with your LABC surveyor and ask for their endorsement. There is no charge for entering. Nominations are now open – and can be made until the closing date of 23 March 2012.

There are twelve categories this year. For domestic building work there is the best domestic extension or conversion (including barn conversions). For new dwellings, there are four categories, best individual dwelling, best small housing site, best large housing site and best social housing site. There’s best small and large commercial development, best education development and best community development. Sustainable construction is encouraged and rewarded with a unique category, and there is a separate category for any development that features unusual or striking technical features (such as structural design or fire safety engineering). And finally there is a category that rewards partnerships operating under the LABC Partnering scheme.

Have a look at the rules page for guidance, and the awards page to see the different categories. Nominations can be made on line on the nominations page. For detailed guidance on how to put the nomination together, go to the download page and downloads the “Guidance on making your nomination” PDF. It is really quite simple to make a nomination, but if you have any questions, contact the organisers from the contact us page.

The regional final is dedicated to showcasing the best the construction industry has to offer in the South East. The awards will attract a large audience to a prestigious ceremony. It is a black tie dinner and is a great opportunity to celebrate the working relationship enjoyed by the design and construction team and to reflect on the success of being shortlisted as a finalist. 

The 2011 LABC South East Regional Building Excellence Awards took place on Friday 10th June at the Copthorne Hotel Effingham Park, Gatwick. A total of 11 awards were given that celebrated the excellence of building quality in a variety of projects from large commercial developments, education and housing projects to domestic refurbishment, along with awards for technical innovation, best partnership and sustainability.

Unlike other industry awards, the LABC Awards recognise the importance of building control in creating a high quality, sustainable built environment in England and Wales. Local authority building control helps to ensure better design and builds by cooperative working between local councils, developers, designers and builders to avoid costly corrections during construction and to make sure projects comply with the highest standards of safety, sustainability and accessibility.  

This year’s finalists showcased how local authority building control is at the forefront of facilitating high environmental standards in difficult economic circumstances and proving how innovative and sustainable development can also be very cost effective.  

LABC Chief Executive Paul Everall said, “The standard of entries was once again extremely high showing the excellent work that is being carried out in the South East region. All the finalists deserve recognition for their great work in helping to improve building standards, boost sustainability and efficiency and show that despite a difficult economic backdrop, standards do not have to slip. Our congratulations go to the finalists – and especially the winners – all of whom have helped to show the importance of local authority building control. All the regional winners will now be nominated for the LABC National Awards which take place on Tuesday 1 November 2001 at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SD.

Nearly 300 construction professionals attended the dinner and Wendy Hurrell from the BBC presented the 11 winners with their trophies. Money was also raised for LABC President Mick Henman’s charity– the British Heart Foundation. The event was sponsored by LABC Warranty, Exova Warringtonfire, Roger Bullivant and Warrington Certification. 

The excitement of the night was captured by Jerry Harper of Charles David Photography. You can see all the pictures of the event at www.charlesdavidphotography.co.uk. Don’t forget to capture your memory of this special event by buying copies of the images.

The complete list of winners, finalists and project descriptions can be found at from the downloads at the bottom of the page. For more information about the LABC National Awards please visit the LABC Awards website at www.labcbuildingexcellenceawards.uk.com.