Police base among BCO North winners

The Ask Goodman joint venture and architects Aedas are celebrating after winning a British Council of Offices North award for best corporate workplace for the 240,000 sq ft Greater Manchester Police Force Headquarters at Central Park, east Manchester.

BCO's Northern Awards brings together the cream of the region's architects, designers, developers and occupiers, all of whom vie for critical acclaim from the industry organisation. Judges said the quality of entries this year had been "truly exceptional" and described the GMP Force HQ as "an iconic, state-of-the-art headquarters with a real presence."

BCO judges continued: "The building shows the GMP as a modern, outward-looking, forward-thinking organisation and provides the optimum working environment for their team. The building's environment provides a sense of drama, inspires the individual and lifts the spirit of the end user."

Other winners this year included English Cities Fund's No.4 St Paul's Square in Liverpool, the fit-out for BBC North at Media City UK, and the Arts Council England's office at The Hive in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

Regional award winners will compete for national prizes at a ceremony in London in October.

Jim Johnson, managing director of Goodman, said: "Ask:Goodman is delighted to receive this BCO North award. It is recognition not just for the excellence of the design but also the collaborative way in which our respective teams have worked together , which has led to the delivery of a building superbly suited to GMP's programme to replace existing facilities in order to improve services.

"Ask: Goodman has delivered a total of 700,000 sq ft of new business space in Central Park and more than 1,500 people will occupy the two buildings. This will boost the vibrant business community already based here and proves that Central Park is an ideal location for many businesses."

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