The Parcels Building wins AJ Awards’ Refurbishment of the Year

Galliford Try’s Building London and South East Commercial’s structural refurbishment of The Parcels Building for Duke Street Property, was one of the winners at this year’s Architect’s Journal (AJ) Architecture Awards.

After its recent success at this year's Society of Façade Engineering (SFE) and The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Façade Design and Engineering Awards, the redevelopment of Building 1A, a vacated 1950s block at 388-396 Oxford Street (known as ‘The Parcels Building’) has received another accolade, winning ‘Refurbishment of the Year’ at the (AJ) Architecture Awards, which recognises the very best in architecture across the UK.

Designed by Grafton Architects and T P Bennet for Duke Street Property, the project features a lightweight single-storey roof extension of steel and cross laminated timber (CLT) construction to both the Oxford Street and Duke Street elevations, while retaining the building’s structural frame, reducing the need for new materials while creating a sustainable benefit.

Additionally, the Oxford Street, Duke Street, and Bird Street elevations have been upgraded with pre-cast and handset Portland stone facades, with each pre-cast panel weighing up to 5.5 tonnes and tailored to fit the existing structure.

The judges praised the redevelopment for being ‘clever’ and ‘well-executed’ and described the technical detail of attaching the new façade to the retained slabs as being ‘exceptional’ and unique. They further explained that ‘the most impressive part of this project is almost what you can’t see’ and that the project team ‘really thought imaginatively about taking this building into another use and life’.

Commenting on the nomination, Matthew Pool, Managing Director for Galliford Try Building London and South East Commercial, said: “We are delighted that The Parcels Building has won this prestigious award, which highlights the excellence of our team to deliver technical solutions that contribute towards more sustainable buildings. A big congratulations goes out to all those involved with the redevelopment of this award-winning project.”