Built by Russells Construction, Waterfront Point won the Corporate Workplace of the Year Award. Described as a ‘vibrant’ workplace, the judges recognised the building’s strong emphasis on the health and wellbeing of employees, and collaborative working.
Waterfront Point has a number of features which are provided for the benefit of employees, such as walking treadmills, exercise bikes, xbox, table tennis and a pool table to help them recharge throughout the day, and the provision of large bike sheds to encourage cycling to work.
The building has bright open spaces with natural light flowing in from the large windows and an atrium roof. There are spacious areas throughout the building which can be used for collaborative working, training sessions, informal and formal meetings, making the building incredibly versatile.
Judges were impressed with how the development seamlessly mixes office and field-based staff, providing a variety of workplaces in a vibrant environment.
Phil Doyle, director at 5 Plus Architects and BCO northern committee chairman said: “A number of workplaces shortlisted this year have proven themselves to be of real value to local firms.
“These offices have helped bring together disparate workforces in new, often relocated headquarters, strengthening the corporate identity of their occupiers. It has also been a pleasure to see the ambition of projects across the region, innovating to transform out of date buildings into offices fit for modern working.”
Ian Aldous, director at Arcadis and chairman of BCO Northern Judging Panel, added: “Across the board, our shortlisted workplaces demonstrate a forward-thinking approach to office design that has placed occupier benefit at the heart of the process.
“These projects have delivered multifunctional spaces and flexible floorplates to ensure occupiers can continue to grow and evolve their working styles with minimal physical disruption.”
“We were also pleased to see an emphasis on wellbeing, which manifested itself in many of our projects through elements from biophilic design to increased cycle storage and shower facilities.”
Nick Atkin, Halton Housing’s Group chief executive, said the whole team was delighted with the win, and congratulated the project, design, construction, and fit out teams for their part.
He added: “Our aim has consistently been to be a leading employer, so we can recruit but also retain the very best talent. This then enables us to deliver fantastic services for our customers. Waterfront Point is the culmination of our drive to fundamentally rethink how we work and how this fits with our customer service offer.
“The workplace should be somewhere people come for a purpose – to collaborate on a particular aspect of work or a project. We are incredibly proud that our workspace has been recognised as something special by this award and I’m grateful to everyone involved whose hard work has turned this vision into a reality.”
Andrew Russell, director of Russells Construction, said: “This is a fantastic accolade for Halton Housing and the whole team which delivered Waterfront Point project. Halton Housing had a vision and, with the support of a great design and build team, it has been realised. It is wonderful this has also recognised by the foremost body within the office industry. Congratulations to Halton and everyone involved with Waterfront Point.”
To see Halton Housing’s new office for yourself, take the virtual tour by clicking here.
And to see a video about the building, click here.
