BCO Awards winners focus on regeneration, sustainability and workplace experience

The UK’s leading office developments have been recognised for their contribution to urban regeneration, sustainability and workplace experience at the 2026 British Council for Offices National Awards. Swansea development 71/72 Kingsway took the top prize at this year’s awards, winning both the Best of the Best and Commercial Workplace categories. Judges described the scheme as a catalyst for the regeneration of Swansea city centre and an example of how people-centred architecture can stimulate investment and attract high-value employment. The annual BCO Awards were presented to an audience of around 1,000 property and workplace professionals at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel in London on 6 October.

Deutsche Bank’s new global flagship at 21 Moorfields in London (below) won the Corporate Workplace Award. Built above a major rail interchange, the project was recognised for integrating architecture, engineering and interior design while placing employee wellbeing and flexibility at the centre of the workplace. The BCO said staff satisfaction had increased by 10 percent since its completion.

Luxury watchmaker Christopher Ward’s headquarters in Maidenhead won the Fit Out of Workplace Award. The 10,079 sq ft scheme combines offices, design studios, logistics and repair operations with customer showrooms. Judges said the consolidation of the company’s operations had helped enable it to double revenue and increase shipping capacity from 500 to 800 watches a day.

The award for Projects up to 2,500m² went to the 13th floor at Chancery Place in Manchester, home to Overbury’s Northern headquarters. The project was praised for making effective use of a relatively small floorplate through modular furniture and movable partitions, and recorded an 88% post-occupancy satisfaction rate.

Civic Millgate in Wigan won the Refurbished/Recycled Workplace Award. The redevelopment has transformed a neglected 1960s Brutalist civic centre into a workplace and community hub while retaining original features including waffle ceilings and terrazzo staircases. Judges said its connection with the surrounding civic square and new public facilities could help catalyse economic renewal in the town centre.

Manchester’s Renold Building received the Innovation Award for the reinvention of the 1960s University of Manchester landmark as a multi-tenant sustainability innovation hub. Refurbishment rather than demolition delivered a reported 71% reduction in embodied carbon, while the project has generated £1.84m in verified social value.

TBC.London won the ESG Award after judges highlighted its approach to material reuse. More than 70% of the existing structure was retained and adapted, while the development incorporated 40 tonnes of salvaged steel beams dating from the 1930s.

Two London schemes were recognised for customer experience. The Customer Experience, Commercial Landlord Award went to 40 Leadenhall, the 900,000 sq ft City office development, for its integration of hospitality, wellbeing, technology and building operations. GSK HQ won the Customer Experience, Corporate Occupier Award. The headquarters brings around 3,000 employees into central London and was developed using workplace research involving more than 800 staff.

A new Judges’ Choice Award was presented to Pixel in Penzance (below), a council-commissioned creative hub and shared workspace for start-ups and small businesses. Judges said the project demonstrated how corporate investment working alongside local government could help revive communities, support sustainability and nurture local business ecosystems.

The President’s Award went to Professor Janice Kirkpatrick OBE, co-founder of international design studio Graven, in recognition of four decades of work promoting design-led growth, placemaking and economic regeneration. BCO president Andy McBain said Kirkpatrick had helped create “better workplaces, stronger businesses, renewed places” and a more ambitious understanding of the economic value of creative design.

BCO national judging chair Nicola Gillen said the winners demonstrated the growing role of workplaces in regeneration and the creation of social value. “This year’s winners demonstrate the growing role of the workplace as a driver of regeneration and social value,” she said. “Whether supporting local businesses, revitalising town centres, attracting investment or creating opportunities for communities, these projects show that office buildings can have a transformative impact far beyond their physical boundaries.”

BCO chief executive Samantha McClary said workplaces were increasingly expected to deliver benefits for people, the environment and their surrounding communities, describing this year’s winners as exemplars of that approach.

The full list of winners was: Best of the Best and Commercial Workplace, 71/72 Kingsway, Swansea; Corporate Workplace, Deutsche Bank, 21 Moorfields, London; Fit Out of Workplace, Christopher Ward HQ, Maidenhead; Projects up to 2,500m², 13th floor at Chancery Place, Manchester; Refurbished/Recycled Workplace, Civic Millgate, Wigan; Innovation, The Renold Building, Manchester; ESG, TBC.London; Customer Experience, Commercial Landlord, 40 Leadenhall; Customer Experience, Corporate Occupier, GSK HQ, London; Judges’ Choice, Pixel, Penzance; and President’s Award, Professor Janice Kirkpatrick OBE.