BCO regional winners announced

Argent picked up best commercial workplace for The Hive on Lever Street in Manchester at the British Council for Offices' Northern Awards last night.

Best fit-out of workplace was won by CB Richard Ellis Architecture & Design Group for the PZ Cussons headquarters at 3500 Aviator Way in Manchester Business Park.

The other winners in the six-category ceremony were:

• Best Refurbished/Recycled Workplace: 10SP, 10 South Parade, Leeds. Wilton Developments
• Best Project up to 2,000m²: Navigation Warehouse, Bridge Street, Wakefield. BDP
• Best Corporate Workplace: GRAHAM New HQ Building, Ballygowan Road, Hillsborough. BDP
• Nominated for National Innovation Award: Electric Works, Sheffield Digital Campus, Sheffield. Creative Space Management

The regional winners will go forwards for the Best of the Best award at the national ceremony in October.

Last night's award ceremony in Manchester was attended by 250 architects and designers from the North of England, Northern Wales and Northern Ireland along with occupiers and other property professionals.

The Hive was praised by the judges "as genuinely innovative, as it demonstrates the ability to invest in vital regeneration with a building of detail and design, while incorporating solid green credentials and natural ventilation."

Developed in partnership between by Argent and Manchester City Council, the 80,000 sq ft building is the only Grade A office space in the Northern Quarter. The building also benefits from a natural ventilation system which ensures it is one of the greenest and most cost effective buildings in the city.

Oliver Butler, project manager at Argent, said: "Argent is thrilled that the Hive has received this important award and it is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved in the design, build and management of the building."

The Hive was completed in 2010 and was designed by Jon Matthews, Carly Grice and John Crellin, formerly of HKR and now running Manchester-based 5 Plus Architects. Crellin said: "Winning this prestigious award is a fantastic accolade to 5 Plus and is testament to our holistic approach to modern workplace design. As the project architect, I am immensely proud of The Hive which has innovation, sustainability and simplicity at its core. Working with Argent has also been a hugely rewarding experience – a visionary client delivering something new to the Manchester market."

Judges said the PZ Cussons headquarters building "is vibrant, inspiring and flexible, allowing employees to choose where they would prefer to work within the building."