Media Release
Date: 25 June 2015
IM&T Building wins awards
The new Information Management and Technology (IM&T) building at Bath's Royal United Hospital received a double win at the South West Built Environment Awards.
The IM&T building – which houses the Trust's IT and Medical Records teams – won in the Innovation and Value categories. The awards were presented to the project's architects, SRA Architects, and members of the Royal United Hospital Estates and Facilities Team during a prestigious ceremony at the Bristol Marriott Hotel.
The judge presenting the award for Innovation praised the project for its "whole team approach to bring together all the specialist expertise needed to develop a building system fit for the 21st century"; whilst the judge presenting the award for Value said: "This winning entry is truly exceptional. It is a project which has demonstrated that, by questioning all factors involved in developing and constructing a building, new and more economic solutions can be introduced."
Howard Jones, Director for Estates and Facilities at the RUH – who earlier this month was named Leader of the Year by the Health Estates and Facilities Management Association – said: "At first sight this looks like just another office building, but appearances can be deceptive. The innovative design approach by SRA has resulted in a building that has been built in a fraction of the site time of other similar structures resulting in reduced build cost and less disruption to a busy site. The finished product is an energy efficient building that still manages to create a superb environment for the staff. The Trust is delighted to have supported a local practice and be the sponsors of this winning project."
SRA architects' John Rich added: "We are delighted to have received the awards. From the outset we wanted the building process and the final outcome to be exemplary. Receiving the awards acknowledges that we've achieved what we set out to, and that's great."
Winning at this regional stage automatically qualifies the project for entry into the Constructing Excellence National Awards, where it will be pitted against the best projects from all sectors across the UK.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor:
South West Built Environment Awards
www.buildswawards.org.uk
The South West Built Environment Awards, run jointly by the Chartered Institute of Building and Constructing Excellence South West, are the premier awards for the construction industry for the region.