Regional BCO Awards show how London’s best offices are redefining the way we work

In a city where tradition meets the cutting edge, London’s office spaces are undergoing a quiet revolution. At the British Council for Offices (BCO) Regional Awards, held today at the London Hilton on Park Lane, seven projects were celebrated—not just for their architectural merit, but for what they reveal about the evolving needs of workers, employers, and communities alike. This year’s winners, chosen from across the capital, signal what the BCO claim is a new era of workplace thinking—where sustainability, community engagement, and human experience carry as much weight as style and status. The awards recognise excellence in the design, fit-out, operation and environmental responsibility of London’s best offices. The 2025 cohort offers more than inspiration; it sets a bold new benchmark for the offices of tomorrow.

Take, for example, 1 EdCity Walk, winner of the Best Corporate Workplace award. It’s not just a headquarters, but a mission-driven space for the children’s education charity Ark. The judges were struck by the client’s ambition and the collaborative energy that shaped the final product. The result is a building that seamlessly fuses form and function—complete with education spaces, a public café and a rooftop terrace—all underpinned by an extraordinary social offer. This is architecture as civic infrastructure, serving not only Ark’s staff but the wider community too.

Meanwhile, 40 Leadenhall, named Best Commercial Workplace, reimagines what a modern business environment can be. This isn’t merely an office block—it’s an entire vertical neighbourhood for up to 10,000 people. Restored historic elements sit alongside a sleek, timeless design that embraces well-being and connectivity. Within its walls, you’ll find everything from a cinema and library to extensive fitness facilities, restaurants and sky terraces. It’s a scheme that doesn’t just raise the bar—it redefines it.

In Paddington, the Capital Group’s European headquarters picked up the award for Best Fit Out of a Workplace, offering an elegant and welcoming interior that blurs the lines between hospitality and corporate functionality. The fit-out plays with light and flow, encouraging movement through open spaces and linking floors with sculptural staircases. Its standout moment is a box-in-box auditorium—a dazzling centrepiece that wows while enabling meaningful connection. It’s a workplace designed to be both beautiful and magnetic.

Across town, innovation takes a more compact form at The Living Lab, this year’s winner in the Projects up to 2,500m² category. Designed as the new headquarters for engineering firm Hilson Moran, the space marries historical preservation with next-generation thinking. Occupying a Grade II listed building, the design champions circular economy principles and advanced environmental strategies—from demand-responsive ventilation to modular furniture—all within an open-plan layout that fosters collaboration. It’s a small space with a big message: sustainability and performance can thrive side by side.

Heritage was also at the heart of Norton Folgate, which claimed Best Refurbished/Recycled Workplace. This ambitious regeneration project transformed three neglected buildings into a vibrant mixed-use development on the edge of the City. It’s a masterclass in architectural sensitivity—balancing restoration with contemporary additions, all within the Elder Street Conservation Area. Powered entirely by electricity and earning high sustainability ratings, the project also supports local food vendors and small businesses, creating a lively ecosystem of work and leisure rooted in place and history.

The drive to embed sustainability at every level was especially evident in 11 Belgrave Road, the winner of the ESG Award. This former 1950s office block has been reborn with new façades that enhance the surrounding streetscape, and its green credentials are nothing short of exceptional. With Nabers 5.5-star, BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Platinum certifications, it ranks among the UK’s most sustainable workplaces. The development team engaged closely with local residents and schools, and even allocated space for charities—showing how environmental goals can go hand in hand with social responsibility.

Perhaps the most daring vision of the future came from GSK’s Project Emerald, winner of the Innovation Award. In relocating its global headquarters from Brentford to central London, the pharmaceutical giant set out to create “the world’s healthiest workplace.” This ambition manifests in an astonishing array of spaces—including 13 different working environments, a rooftop gym and, perhaps most impressively, Europe’s largest indoor vertical farm. The restaurant it supplies is open to the public as well as GSK employees. What makes the project truly special is the way it draws on scientific research to optimise mental well-being, stress management and productivity. As the judges put it, no one else has applied such thinking with this level of rigour or ambition.

For Richard Kauntze, Chief Executive of the BCO, this year’s ceremony had added resonance. As he prepares to step down from his role, he expressed pride in the progress the sector has made. “These awards show how far we’ve come in creating offices that genuinely reflect the needs of modern occupiers,” he said. “Our members are pushing boundaries in design, sustainability and user experience. It’s an exciting future.”

That future will unfold on an even larger stage in October, when London’s best offices go on to compete at the BCO National Awards.