Birley (left) is battling the Manchester School of Art (right) for the RICS North West's Design Through Innovation award
Birley and Benzie go head to head
20 February 2015
Buildings shortlisted for prestigious RICS prize
BIRLEY Building and the Manchester School Art’s Benzie Building have being shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors regional awards.
And in a quirk of fate, both buildings will fight it out for the same prize.
The nominations were announced yesterday and saw both Birley and The Manchester School Art (MSA) shortlisted for the ‘Design Through Innovation’ award, while Birley also picked up another nomination in the ‘Regeneration’ category.
Both buildings will go up against the best structures from across the North West, announced at a Manchester-based ceremony on April 30. The winners go through to the national finals.
Brilliant buildings
It is one of the first such nominations for the Birley building, which welcomed its first students this year but MSA is no stranger to such things after being pipped at the post for last year’s national Riba Stirling Prize.
Keith Faulks, Dean of the Faculty of Education, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to have been shortlisted, the nominations are a ringing endorsement of the fantastic building we have here, a building which helps us to continue to be at the forefront of education training and research.
“Being in the heart of Hulme allows us to engage with a range of partners and schools to ensure the benefits of Birley are felt by everyone associated with the area and University.”
Professor Christine Horrocks, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care, added: “Since we made the move to Birley, we have been further developing our engagement with the community as part of our ongoing commitment to the City’s health and wellbeing agenda.
Vision
“While the modern facilities provide our students with unrivalled skills labs and practice-based learning opportunities as they make their journey to becoming the next generation of health and social care professionals.”
Speaking last year, Prof David Crow, Dean of MSA, said: “Our architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley, have done a wonderful job of interpreting this vision and have worked very closely with our staff team to deliver a first-class building that helps us to rethink our working practices.”
The Birley building opened in the summer of 2014 after a two-year construction programme and is now home to 6,000 students and 500 staff.
The new MSA building re-opened in April 2013 after the 1960s tower block was refurbished and a new extension added.
