2009 BDP Studio, 11 Ducie Street, Manchester

Architect: BDP

Client: BDP/Town Centre Securities

Structural engineer: BDP

Services engineer: BDP

Quantity surveyor: AYH

Contractor: Kier North West

Contract value: £10.3m

Date of occupation: September 2008

Gross internal area: 41,200 sq ft, 3840 sq m

The developer, Town Centre Securities: BDP began the search in 2002 to find a new inspirational studio workspace for their 280-strong Manchester team of architects, engineers and designers. Their site search was quickly narrowed to Manchester's Northern Quarter of Manchester, allowing BDP to assist in the regeneration of this area. Following an in house design competition and negotiations with developers, Town Centre Securities' Piccadilly Basin site was chosen. Having an architect as an client brought an unusual dynamic to the project and BDP's designers worked closely with us as developer client in parallel with BDP the tenant to provide the low-energy, contextual design you see today - a reflection of the ethos of both TCS and BDP.

Kier was appointed as main contractor and work began on site in summer 2006. All parties faced many challenges, not least having to construct a temporary dam to hold back the canal waters. By March 2008 the shell and core were completed followed by a fit-out undertaken by Styles and Wood over the summer. By September BDP had moved into what was, at the time, Manchester's first BREEAM excellent, naturally ventilated office building, a great achievement and a credit to genuine partnership working.

A project of this scale and originality brought with it a number of problems. However, having a tenant with in-depth construction knowledge assisted greatly. And without the team approach, and financial and design creativity of TCS and BDP, this design would never have been built.

The RIBA award recognises the significant efforts made by all to achieve something truly innovative, rather than another banal office building.

The judges: BDP have pulled off a commercially viable, high-quality office building in functional, aesthetic and environmental terms, providing themselves with an office/studio that extracts full advantage from the limited site. Each floor creates a strongly characterised and beautifully detailed flexible workplace.

However the remarkable feature of the building is its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, as Manchester's first BREEAM excellent-rated office building. Maximum benefit is taken of the north light façade facing the canal basin, whilst a protective south (street side) a stainless steel clad hull shades the building from solar gain. It is naturally vented, with a very low energy requirement.

The scheme represents a clear expression of its constructional materials, (wood, concrete, glass and steel) and is detailed to a very high standard.