The annual presentation of The Concrete Society's coveted Awards for Excellence in Concrete took place at The Royal Lancaster London on the 17th November 2021.

Please click here to view all of this years� shortlisted entries. Photos from evening can be viewed here.

Guest host Rt Hon Michael Portillo

Crossrail Farringdon Station East and West Ticket Halls, London

Farringdon Station East and West incorporates three visually stunning soffit elements. The upper and lower apse ceilings are constructed from pre-cast concrete and hybrid pre-cast/in-situ concrete respectively, the east ticket hall coffered ceiling being in-situ concrete. The project displays the unique potential and diversity of concrete and the innovation, collaboration and mutual advocacy of the team who made it happen.

Judges' Comments:

This project certainly has the �WOW� factor.

Three different forms of construction have been employed in the formation of the soffits in the west upper and lower apses and east ticket hall.

The upper apse sloping precast concrete soffit structure is bold and impressive. The overall effect and the quality of the finish produced is of the highest standard not previously seen on other projects.

The lower apse finish is again of an extremely high level with the form panel joints aligned with the upper apse beams. Any remedial work was limited on achieving crisp sharp arris edge detail but again this work was not apparent.

This ground level east ticket hall deep coffered in-situ soffit is mass in-situ heavy-duty concrete, with a nod to the Barbican�s �Brutalist� construction.

This project has everything. The striking images from three forms of construction, the innovation required to form the suspended soffits, the deep coffers and the use of various amounts of cement replacement. This is a masterpiece of what can be achieved with concrete to the highest level.

 

Duncan House, London

Duncan House is a mixed-use development with functions distributed between a 31-storey tower and a podium base with spaces arranged to avoid privacy issues between the various residential and commercial uses. A unitized system of 1,487 reconstructed stone panels with 2,500 fitted windows, ventilation panels and bronze louvre blades create a stunningly beautiful and striking fa�ade for the Stratford skyline.

Judges' Comments:

This a high-end example of precast concrete, which shows that good detailing, manufacture and installation can be achieved to produce an outstanding structure.

The main entrance has several tall double-storey standalone columns consisting of a structural steel �I� column with concrete surround. All four sides of the columns are visible and finishing work at the factory has resulted in the unformed surface being almost identical to the three formed surfaces.

The precast concrete is light in colour and gives the resemblance of Portland stone. As viewed, the uniformity of the concrete�s colour and appearance is exemplary given the panels having been manufactured over an 18-month period. There is no discernible difference between the first and last panels produced. It is only the natural lighting and shadow that gives the panels a different perceived colour and this could partially be related to the different reflection from the windows and louvre bays within each panel.

 

Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, London

Advancing ground-breaking health outcomes, while championing wellbeing and sustainability, the BREEAM Excellent Zayed Centre for Research showcases exposed concrete in a healthcare environment. The use of concrete is integral to the creation of a non-clinical character, focussed on human experience, and to the wider environmental credentials of this pioneering project.

Judges' Comments:

The concrete successfully integrates with the other architectural materials used throughout the building. The light filled research and clinical area reflects the attention to the detail of panel joints, bolt-hole location and finishing, recesses and fittings. Post-tensioned slabs increase ceiling heights commensurate with Local Authority parameters, the whole concrete structure providing thermal mass.

This BREEAM Excellent project enables internal reconfiguration in the future to suite new research programmes and is a future reference benchmark for a well-executed exposed concrete finish.

 

Moss House, University College Birmingham

An exposed concrete structure, with metal and glass finishes, gives the interior of the new red brick building for University College Birmingham (UCB) a fresh and industrial feel, whilst being robust and durable. The building is designed to celebrate the architectural heritage of the Jewellery Quarter conservation area while providing state-of-the-art student facilities.

Judges' Comments:

This project works very well as an example of what can be achieved by excellent planning, attention to detail and very good execution. Among the best university projects seen.

As a university building with a lot of concrete internally and brick-slip precast panels externally, this provides an ideal place for students and an excellent internal and external environment.

Externally, the precast brick slip panels match the surrounding buildings. It is not meant to stand out in a historic part of Birmingham. Internally attention to detail has been very well thought out. Inside the mixed use of concrete and other materials works very well. The changes in concrete finishes between rooms is not obvious but subtly done. The thought behind the concrete finish is nice to see.

The internal finish is the key part of this entry and has been carried out to a very high standard with great attention to detail.

 

Boston Barrier, Boston

This 6000m³ in-situ reinforced concrete structure housing a tidal flood barrier efficiently uses Design for Manufacture and Assembly by incorporating precast elements to form the concave gate recess and prefabricated reinforcement cages for the monolithic in-situ concrete. Resourceful concrete mix specification involving collaboration between designer and concrete supplier significantly reduced cement content, saving 1,280t CO₂ embodied carbon.

Judges' Comments:

The flood barrier has a robust design to behave monolithically without movement joints and with some very large loads imposed. The design development models minimised sections to control heat of hydration thermal issues. The curved precast gate inverts are an innovation where cast in-situ previously used - key aspect. The adjacent pathway has some nice cast in-situ wall panels; this complements the walkway nicely.

Constructing within a coffer dam on a tidal river is extremely tricky. Getting concrete to the site was always logistically difficult but the project team manged to form a complex high concrete volume structure extremely well. This is an impressive civil engineering project with concrete at its heart. An excellent design creating an optimum solution for a very large functional object.70

 

Kathy Calverley, Managing Director, The Concrete Society
Richard Day, Head of Technical Services, The Concrete Society
Neil Crook, Senior Advisory Engineer, The Concrete Society
Ian Heritage, Senior Advisory Engineer, The Concrete Society
Ian Evans, Engineer, The Concrete Society

 

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The Concrete Repair Association

Award Winner: CSC Services for the University Hospital of North Tees

A relatively straightforward project became anything but during one of the most demanding periods of the Covid-19 pandemic � a time of severe demand on the NHS. This innovative, collaborative concrete repair project involved CSC Services delivering to meet the hospital�s specific needs. Nearfield working across seven floors of high-need care, including neo-natal, theatre and ITU units, required an unprecedented level of collaborative working between CSC Services and NHS staff at every level.