BCSC Award for WCEC Shopping Centre
3 Dec 2009
WCEC Architects £20 million scheme to extend and regenerate the Cornbow Shopping Centre in Halesowen has won industry acclaim by gaining a commendation in the prestigious British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) 2009 awards. This was the highest award in the In-Town Retail Scheme (300,000 sq ft or less) category.
WCEC designed the scheme for developers Vale Retail. The awards are designed to reward excellence in retail-led developments and recognise projects that generate improvements in the quality of the built environment. Commenting on this year’s awards, BCSC Chief Executive, Michael Green said: “Our 2009 winners are an exceptional example of the innovative design and quality needed to deliver exciting, inspirational developments. As we move forward into 2010, it is vital that our towns and cities continue to benefit from retail-led regeneration.
The announcement was made at a special awards ceremony in London which was attended by over 1,500 of the country’s leading retail professionals. Neil Varnham, Chairman of the BCSC Gold Awards Jury said: “This year’s entries have shown us some of the most inspiring retail property solutions of the decade and we are proud to present the 2009 Awards to our industry’s most original and dedicated designers and developers.
WCEC have had their outstanding retail design recognised before and won the BCSC gold award for their design of the Marshall’s Yard mixed use development in Gainsborough in 2007.
Alex Wall, partner at WCEC said: “We are honoured that the Cornbow Centre has won such a prestigious award. The design and implementation of the project presented a number of unusual design challenges and this award recognises the tremendous amount of effort which went into delivering a high quality scheme.”