We are in high spirits today at Bowcliffe HQ, having found out that the Blackburn Wing – our own 2,060 sq. ft treehouse conference venue shaped like an airplane wing – continues to build on its awards success after being shortlisted in the Constructing Excellence Yorkshire & Humber (CEYH) Awards 2015.
The copper and glass centrepiece of a £6m project at the Grade II-listed Bowcliffe Hall is a finalist in the Project of the Year category of the accolades run by the Centre for Knowledge Exchange at Leeds Beckett University.
The scheme – part of a multi-phase restoration of Bowcliffe’s nineteenth century estate where redundant space has been converted into offices – pays tribute to aviation hero Robert Blackburn who was the first Yorkshireman to design and build a powered aeroplane.
The brainchild of the Bayford Group CEO Jonathan Turner and built by Conlan Construction, the project also features a ‘Drivers Club’ restaurant for business tenants and guests which captures the golden age of aviation when the Blackburns’ played host to guests including aircraft pioneer Amy Johnson and Winston Churchill.
Described as a ‘tour de force’ by judges, the scheme has scooped the Tourism & Leisure award at the 2015 RICS Pro Yorkshire Awards along with two RIBA awards – and been entered for both the RICS and the RIBA national finals.
Jonathan Turner said: “The CEYH awards celebrate the best that the built environment has to offer and it’s great that the project is in such a prestigious final line up. The high profile visitors we attract span politicians and well known public figures – all of whom are bowled over. The feedback we receive daily from our tenants, visitors and those booking both corporate and private events with us – is remarkable.”
The 2015 Constructing Excellence Yorkshire & Humber awards (#CEYHawards) will take place on Friday 17th July 2015 at the National Railway Museum in York.