Oldham Town Hall Wins Chamber’s Building of the Year Award

Oldham Town Hall Wins Chamber’s Building of the Year Award

• Chamber Reveals Greater Manchester’s winning building

• Winner of the Construction Apprentice of the Year Award announced

Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has announced the winner of its Building of the Year Award 2017: Oldham Town Hall.

The winner of the Building of the Year Award was revealed at the Chamber’s Property and Construction Annual Dinner last night (Thursday 19h October) at the Hilton Deansgate, Manchester.

Over 350 businesses attended the event, which saw Oldham Town Hall beat off stiff competition from six other finalists:

• Bright Building, Manchester Science Park

• Maggie’s, Oldham

• Spire Manchester Hospital

• Stockport Exchange

• The Bund, Salford Quays

• Two St Peter’s Square, Manchester

The winner was chosen by the Chamber’s Property and Construction Group, which consists of professionals from a range of businesses in the property and construction sector. They received many worthy entries for new buildings from across Greater Manchester and undertook site visits to eventually determine the winner.

Commenting on this year’s winner of the Greater Manchester Building of the Year Award, Phil Cusack, Chamber Chairman and Chair at Vivak said:

“The judges felt that the Oldham Town Hall redevelopment was a superb example of urban regeneration – bringing a hugely important historic landmark building back into use with a commercial enterprise which is already bringing economic life back to Oldham town centre. That it still retains its original architectural details inside and out is nothing short of remarkable.”

Last night also saw the Construction Apprentice of the Year Award, sponsored by Liang O’Rourke, presented to Tuner and Townsend’s Ben Deegan, who is currently studying for his Level 4 Apprenticeship in Project management with QA Apprenticeships.

The Judges commented:

‘Ben has demonstrated enthusiasm and commitment to his Apprenticeship and has demonstrated going above and beyond what is expected of him. He has a clear drive and passion to succeed’.

Bethany O’Neill from Willmott Dixon, and Richard Wilson – Kier Living/Great Places were the other finalists. The winner and two finalists were all presented with an award, certificate and cheque.

The nominated charity for this year’s event was Wigan & Leigh Hospice.

The event was sponsored by Siemens, Skanska and CBRE, with Laing O’Rourke sponsoring the Apprentice of the Year Award, Parker Wilson sponsoring the programme and media sponsors Place North West.

Further information about Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce can be found at: www.gmchamber.co.uk

-Ends-

Press contact:

Bethan Weston, Digital & Social Media Manager: 0161 393 4336 bethan.weston@gmchamber.co.uk

Images attached:

• Nigel Fraser, Capital Programmes Manager from Oldham Council and team from Oldham Town Hall, with Clive Memmott and Phil Cusack from the GM Chamber

• Construction Apprentice of the Year Award winner, Ben Deegan

About Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce:

• Greater Manchester Chamber is the largest Chamber of Commerce in the UK.

• We provide first-class business support through a range of tailored services and networking opportunities and use our influence with local and central government to lobby on behalf of our members as the voice of the Greater Manchester business community.

• The Chamber is an independent, not-for-profit private company, working to create a better business environment for its members.

• The Chamber covers Manchester, Salford, Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, Trafford, Tameside and Stockport

• We are an accredited member of the British Chambers of Commerce – one of only 53 chambers across the UK.

• Greater Manchester Chamber was founded in 2004, but traces its roots back to 1794.

The Winning Building and Finalists:

Oldham Town Hall

This important heritage landmark, which is the Grade II listed, Old Town Hall building has undergone an extensive refurbishment.

Incorporating a modern glass box extension into the design, the building now includes seven cinema screens with a provision for 800 seats, six restaurants, plus café and a new public square, including heritage retained elements and commissioned artwork.

The project secures a long term economically viable future for the Old Town Hall and a wider and improved cultural and retail offer, capturing civic pride and a sense of identity for the people of Oldham. Its projected economic impact will see the creation of 115 net additional jobs and an estimated 214,000 extra visits to the town centre annually.

Bright Building - part of Manchester Science Park

The Bright Building at Manchester Science Park is the ideal location to bring great ideas to life.

Situated at the heart of Manchester Science Park, this exciting new facility offers exceptional space and services for tech-focused businesses, plus the perfect conditions for collaboration and networking.

The majority of the building’s ground floor is given over to an expansive, flexible open space for up to 200 people to gather, with meeting rooms, break-out spaces, a café and outdoor shared Maggie’s Oldham is a newly constructed cancer care centre situated within the grounds of The Royal Oldham Hospital.

Maggie’s

The charity provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends. Since the centre does not provide cancer treatment facilities requiring complex architectural requirements and considerations; the architect was able to design a space that was purely focused on calming and healing.

Maggie’s Oldham seeks to provide ‘the architecture of hope’. The building sits on six slender stilts which allows the building to hover over a garden. The garden offers ‘open air rooms’ framed by pine and birch trees. The CLT has a concave and convex glass bubble rising full height throughout its structure.

areas to help bring businesses together from across the park. As the hub for the whole campus community of over 150 businesses and the wider city centre innovation district, the Bright Building is positioned right at the heart of the action.

Spire Manchester Hospital

Spire Healthcare were looking to make a step-change in the local region, to make a huge difference in how healthcare is delivered in the Greater Manchester area, whilst looking to partner with local Trusts to provided additional capacity for regional healthcare.

This led them to commission a brand new 12,000m2 Acute Private Healthcare Hospital Facility in Manchester, essentially a self-contained acute hospital campus featuring a large Outpatients Department, Diagnostics including MRI, CT Scan, Fluroscopy, X-Ray and Mammography, Physiotherapy Department incorporating a Hydrotherapy Pool, six fully integrated Operating Theatres including a class leading Hybrid Theatre, a Critical Care Unit including Isolation facilities, a large Day-case Ward and two Inpatient Wards, an on-site Pathology Laboratory and state-of-the-art conferencing facilities which linked live 4K HD camera images from the operating theatres for Learning and Development.

Stockport Exchange

Stockport Exchange saw Muse Developments and Stockport Council working in partnership to deliver the second phase of the major mixed-use regeneration scheme located next to Stockport train station.

In 2016, the project delivered One Stockport Exchange, a new five-storey, BREEAM Excellent, 50,000 sq ft office building with ground floor retail space, a 115-bed Holiday Inn Express and new pedestrianised public space. The road layout has also been reconfigured improving access to the station, providing a dedicated drop-off facility, a new taxi rank and an improved bus circulation route.

Stockport Exchange has rejuvenated a tired and under-used leisure scheme and busy road into an attractive and vibrant new commercial quarter. The arrival experience from Stockport station has been completely transformed into a fitting and impressive gateway into the town.

The Bund

The Bund is built on the plot of the former marketing suite situated on Dock 9 of the Manchester Ship Canal right in the heart of MediaCityUK.

The Bund is a new 3,800sqft iconic leisure facility consisting of a striking el zinc copper roof and external walls, with an external seating terrace overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal. The building is seen from all elevations and from above, therefore there was a responsibility to make this building iconic.

The £1.7 million scheme, was developed for MediaCity and was completed in May 2017. Living Ventures / The Alchemist will be the tenants and will be open for business at the end of August.

Two St. Peter’s Square

Two St. Peter’s Square is part of the new vision for the Square.

It offers 5,203 sq ft of retail space and 161,065 sq ft of high quality, BREEAM ‘Excellent’ Grade A office space across 12 floors, with unique design features.

This building has been designed as a fine example of timeless modern architecture in the heart of Manchester’s new business district, close to the main public transport links of St Peter’s Square Metrolink Station and Oxford Road Station.

Two St Peter’s Square sits forward of surrounding buildings, providing unrivalled prominence.

The building’s elegant, reconstituted Portland stone and glass facades are contemporary and sustainable. The facade, together with the gable elevations with their distinctive filigree tracery, reflect the quality of the setting in one of the finest civic quarters in the city.

Previous winners:

2016 – Maggie’s Oldham

2015 - The Whitworth

2014 – Manchester Central Library

2013 – Number One Riverside, Rochdale

2012 - The Space Youth Intervention Centre for 42nd Street, Manchester

2011 – MediaCityUK, Salford Quays

2010 – People’s History Museum, Manchester

2009 – Ashton Market, Tameside

2008 – Piccadilly Place, Manchester

2007 – John Ryland’s Library, Manchester

2006 – Beetham Tower, Manchester

2005 – The Pinnacle Building, Manchester


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About Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce is the largest Chamber of Commerce in the UK, providing business support to approximately 4,500 members who collectively employ 446,000 people, around one-third of Greater Manchester’s workforce. Recognised as a leader in its field, Greater Manchester Chamber’s reputation in government circles has grown locally and nationally. At the heart of the area of greatest economic intensity outside London and the South East, the Chamber is the primary body for business support, policy, representation and networking. The Chamber is an independent, not-for-profit private company and its aim is to support businesses and help create the best climate for the region to prosper. This is achieved by ensuring that those taking decisions on key issues such as transport, taxation and business regulation hear the voice of our members. The representation of our members’ views is central to the work of the policy team at the Chamber; these views are gathered in a range of ways including our local councils, policy committees, sector councils, the main Chamber council, focus groups, meetings with politicians and consultations. The Chamber also offers a range of networking forums across Greater Manchester, free as part of membership, plus a variety of other events and services designed to benefit specific sectors or individuals and help businesses to grow.


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