Developers working on the redevelopment of Lakeshore in South Bristol have reached a major milestone at the new £20m Copper Building today – a 170m long structure which will soon flank the Northern boundary of the former Imperial Tobacco site. Joint venture partners, and developers of the building Urban Splash
Integrated building solutions company J Tomlinson has solidified its growth across Yorkshire with the opening of a new support office in Wakefield and the creation of 60 new jobs. The expansion follows a number of significant contract wins and a surge in the number of new staff employed in the
Automated transport and logistics technology could be adopted on a wide scale at UK airports in the future. A report commissioned by Aberdeen Standard Investment’s AIPUT fund (Airport Industrial and Property Unit Trust) produced jointly by specialist UK aviation real estate consultancy, ChappellKing and Dornier Consulting International GmbH, explores the potential
Top fenestration specialist Sidey is a finalist in The VIBES – Scottish Environment Business Awards, recognising its commitment to the environment. Sidey is the only finalist in fenestration for the Environmental Management SME category. All the others are in food and drink with the shortlist including a flour producer, malt
The final call for potential speakers from within the construction industry, who are willing to share their knowledge, experience and lesson’s learned with their industry peers at Aberdeen’s first construction conference, will take place at an evening reception at CMS on Tuesday 14th August, 6-7.30pm. The main purpose of the
Anderton Concrete says it is ‘bucking the industry trend’ for long delivery times, thus ensuring its customers’ projects are not delayed. By comparison with timber – which has a reported waiting time of two months according to recent research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and is commonly used for
The pressure to meet an ever-increasing demand for school places is one that has been felt by local authorities across the UK for a number of years, with the requirement for places across primary, secondary and special education on the rise. The London Borough of Hounslow is one local authority
One of Canary Wharf’s spectacular high-rises, 20 Canada Square was subject to a crucial ceiling refurbishment by specialists SAS International. With 12 floors of commercial office space offering panoramic views of London’s financial district, the building’s contemporary finish optimises plenty of natural daylight from every angle. SAS has been a
Crime Prevention Through Pro-Social Design recognises that the offender is very likely to be part of our community and that enhancing an offender’s emotional or moral attachment to an area through its design may reduce their desire or inclination to commit crimes within the community A UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield professor has investigated
Former England footballer Graeme Le Saux has been announced as this year’s guest speaker at the annual Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) Education Awards. Graeme will lead the celebrations, which will recognise the outstanding educational achievements of the door hardware industry’s rising stars at the Royal Lancaster hotel in London
Developers working on the redevelopment of Lakeshore in South Bristol have reached a major milestone at the new £20m Copper Building today – a 170m long structure which will soon flank the Northern boundary of the former Imperial Tobacco site. Joint venture partners, and developers of the building Urban Splash and Places for People, alongside architect Nick Brown of Ferguson Mann, gathered on the roof of the new structure to mark the “topping out” construction milestone, which sees the 7-storey building now at its highest point. Copper Building will offer 136 new apartments for local people, many of which will be launched for sale next month. Guy Ackernley is director of residential sales at Urban Splash – the company who restored the original Grade II Listed Cor-Ten building at the site, before turning its attentions to the land where the factory once stood. Speaking at today’s event he said: “It’s been quite the milestone reaching the building’s highest point and being able to enjoy some stunning views of the 10 acres of gardens and a panoramic aspect of the surrounding area too.” Added Mary Parsons, Places for People: “Our working partnership with Urban Splash continues to flourish and I am delighted that we’ve marked another achievement today as we strive to bring more beautifully designed new homes to South Bristol.” Designed by Ferguson Mann, the architecture practice founded by former Bristol Mayor George Ferguson, the new building draws its inspiration from the nearby orchards whilst also reflecting the designs of the original Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Cor-Ten building. Nick Brown from the practice explained: “Clad in copper, the building’s warm exterior complements its adjacent Cor-ten steel cousin – the original ‘70s building – across the way. We’ve revived the original connection of the two buildings with a new entranceway that opens up a view down to the original structure, echoing that now lost connection between the factory and office. Ultimately, by designing a new building which very much has a relationship with the existing one, we’ve certainly enhanced this already awesome community.” Elaborating on the autumn sales event – which will take place on Saturday 29th September – Guy concluded: “The homes here are going to be very special with the entire South façade featuring fully glazed balconies overlooking the original building, lake and vast outdoor space. They really are set to be stunning properties. We cannot wait to bring these much anticipated homes to market in September, before welcoming our residents next year.” Residents moving into the building next year will benefit from 10 acres of gardens as well as being in close proximity to the centre of Bristol. Anyone wishing to register their interest ahead of the sales launch should email live@urbansplash.co.uk or visit https://www.urbansplash.co.uk/blog/designing-lakeshores-copper-building for more information.
Integrated building solutions company J Tomlinson has solidified its growth across Yorkshire with the opening of a new support office in Wakefield and the creation of 60 new jobs. The expansion follows a number of significant contract wins and a surge in the number of new staff employed in the region by the contractor. As well as being appointed to deliver repairs and maintenance works by social landlord, emh homes, at the beginning of the year, J Tomlinson has also begun working in partnership with Home Group – one of the largest housing associations in the UK. The Nottingham-based company was appointed as repairs and maintenance contractor for Home Group’s Yorkshire region in April. The contract, which includes gas servicing, will see J Tomlinson working in partnership with Home Group to support the housing association’s continued commitment to ‘providing a quality repairs and maintenance service’ for its customers. The contract officially commenced on June 1st, with J Tomlinson working across a significant geographical coverage comprising over 5,000 properties stretching from Keighley, West Yorkshire, to Scarborough, East Yorkshire. To support the Yorkshire extension, the business has opened a new office in Wakefield, located off Junction 40 at Silkwood Park. It is the third office for J Tomlinson, which launched a West Midlands regional office in Canwell, near Sutton Coldfield, in 2016. Martin Ardron, operations director (pictured back right), commented: “J Tomlinson has a wide range of existing partnerships across Yorkshire, and – over the years – has opened a number of smaller depots to support the delivery of existing contracts. We are pleased to have inhabited a new base at Wakefield, which not only marks significant growth of the business, but also represents the beginning of what we hope to be an excellent relationship with Home Group and its Yorkshire-based residents.” During the contract mobilisation period, the company recruited 60 new staff from office-based Customer Liaison Officers (CLOs) to skilled tradespeople. One such employee is 25-year-old Adam Barker who joins the company as an Apprentice Electrician having recently started his fourth year of studying for an NVQ Level 3 diploma in Installing Electrotechnical Systems and Equipment. Adam commented: “I’m looking forward to my time at J Tomlinson, I’ve been made to feel very welcome already. I feel that J Tomlinson will provide the support I need to finish my apprenticeship.” Margarita Morrison, director of maintenance at Home Group, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with J Tomlinson. This new appointment forms part of our commitment to continuously improving the quality of services for our customers when it comes to maintenance and repairs. We’re confident J Tomlinson will help us offer the best service possible.” Other Yorkshire-based clients of multi-service company J Tomlinson include North Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Housing Association and East Riding Council. J Tomlinson, which was founded in the 1950s, is based in Nottingham and works primarily across the West Midlands, East Midlands and Yorkshire, increased its turnover from £74 million in 2016 to £87 million in 2017. It employs more than 400 people. It provides a range of integrated building solutions including construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical services (M&E), and facilities management, and works across all major sectors, including healthcare, social housing, student accommodation, commercial and industrial. For more information about J Tomlinson, visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk.
Automated transport and logistics technology could be adopted on a wide scale at UK airports in the future. A report commissioned by Aberdeen Standard Investment’s AIPUT fund (Airport Industrial and Property Unit Trust) produced jointly by specialist UK aviation real estate consultancy, ChappellKing and Dornier Consulting International GmbH, explores the potential efficiency gains from automation across airport-related functions such as cargo-handling and logistics operations, as well as passenger transportation both to and within airports. This includes London’s Heathrow, which recently received the formal support of Parliament for its third runway plans. Nick Smith, AIPUT fund manager, said: “Autonomous technology promises enormous benefits to airports and the service companies that support them, transforming the way airports work and improving efficiency and safety, both for passengers and other airport users. At Gatwick, for example, 90 per cent of the airport’s airside vehicles are stationary at any one time, which is both hugely inefficient and demands a vast amount of space. A much smaller pool of electric-powered autonomous vehicles would drastically cut costs, free up land, reduce emissions, and improve safety. In Düsseldorf, a newly developed robotic car parking system has demonstrated a 60 per cent reduction in required parking space compared with human drivers. He added: “Airports and airport real estate providers need to be ready for the introduction of automated technology as soon as operational and safety regulations permit. AIPUT intends to stay ahead of the curve by embracing automation, working with our tenants and partners to build autonomous technology into our site masterplans; which we believe will adapt and future-proof our UK estate assets, ensuring that our clients’ buildings and facilities will be able to accommodate and benefit fully from the rapid development of autonomous technology.” Trials of a variety of autonomous technological applications have already taken place at several UK airports, says the report. The first trials of automated airside vehicles have been completed at Heathrow in collaboration with IAG Cargo and Oxbotica. Gatwick, meanwhile, recently became the first airport in the world to trial the use of autonomous vehicles to shuttle staff across the airfield, demonstrating that autonomous vehicles can operate safely in highly complex airfield environments. This winter in Norway an autonomous snowplough was tested at Fagernes Airport – a single machine was able to clear an area of 68 acres in an hour. Autonomous technology increases the precision with which snowploughs operate, improving safety during the removal of snow and while driving in formation and low visibility, says the study. The UK Government has signalled its support for the industry, with the announcement of £22.4 million of funding under the Industrial Strategy for off-road self-driving vehicles, which it believes will revolutionise productivity in a range of sectors, including mining, ports and airports. As in many other fields of technological development, airports provide the test bed for a plethora of different autonomous applications, say the researchers. AIPUT, which currently holds two million square feet of buildings at Heathrow, dedicated to supporting the airport’s freight and logistics service providers states that it will ensure “it is at the forefront of planning for and providing the cutting-edge facilities that greater automation will require”.
Top fenestration specialist Sidey is a finalist in The VIBES – Scottish Environment Business Awards, recognising its commitment to the environment. Sidey is the only finalist in fenestration for the Environmental Management SME category. All the others are in food and drink with the shortlist including a flour producer, malt whisky distillery, and a deli. “Being a finalist in these awards is testament to the focus we have put on the environment over the last ten years,” says Robert Fitzpatrick, Group Accreditations Manager-HSQE at Sidey. “Our results are impressive. Today we have zero landfill from our manufacturing facilities and between 90 and 100 percent recyclable recoverable waste, which is a massive improvement from the eight-to-nine percent ten years ago. “We first achieved 100 percent recycling from manufacturing waste in 2015 and have maintained it every year since. Now we operate lean manufacturing processes where waste is seen as bad and non-productive.” Sidey‘s commitment to sustainability is backed up by an impressive array of environmental certification. It was one of the first window manufacturers in the UK to get ISO14001:2015 and has ISO 9001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2007. Sidey is also one of the only companies in the UK with the latest BS 8213-4:2016 standard for Survey and Installation. Finalists for The VIBES have been selected across nine individual award categories. They aim to recognise the different ways organisations are implementing environmental best practice in their daily activity. Bob Downes, chair of SEPA and head of The VIBES judging panel, adds: “The VIBES – Scottish Environment Business Awards are a great chance to recognise business leadership in sustainable environmental investment. This is at the core of SEPA’s One Planet Prosperity regulatory strategy. New approaches for delivering environmental improvements provide businesses with opportunities to enhance their sustainability and economic performance. “The Awards celebrate businesses which are already stepping up to this challenge and are leading by example and are an excellent opportunity to recognise and reward these companies for going beyond “business as usual” and driving sustainable growth through innovation. It is very encouraging to see so many of Scotland’s businesses leading the way and making a difference which will not only support the environment but also protect their bottom line. I would like to congratulate each of this year’s finalists and wish them luck for November’s ceremony.”
The final call for potential speakers from within the construction industry, who are willing to share their knowledge, experience and lesson’s learned with their industry peers at Aberdeen’s first construction conference, will take place at an evening reception at CMS on Tuesday 14th August, 6-7.30pm. The main purpose of the event is to officially launch Build It Aberdeen, a conference and exhibition being organised by Mearns & Gill in partnership with The Aberdeen Association of Construction Professionals, Aberdeen Society of Architects, Aberdeen Association of Civil Engineers, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and Women in Property. Build It Aberdeen, which takes place on the 30th November at AECC, and which has the theme ‘Building the Future Together’, aims to directly address some of the challenges currently being faced by the industry. Speakers are invited to share details of educational and inspiring case studies and projects, along with new innovations and solutions, each helping to put the North-East construction and property industry on the map. The full conference programme will be released in early September, with speakers from Aberdeen City Council, Construction Industry Training Board, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, Equate, Homes for Scotland and The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment already confirmed. Michelle Forth, Director at Safety Scotland and Chairwoman of the Build It conference committee said “We are absolutely delighted with the support that Build it Aberdeen has already received from individuals and businesses across the North-east. The positive response has reinforced our view that it is the right time for us to come together as an industry, to share our experiences, skills and lessons learned, and to begin looking at building the future of North-east construction together.” “Collectively, we are already aware that we need to address issues such as the skills-gap, and a reluctance to embrace innovation within construction, and the launch event on the 14th of August will give companies the opportunity to see what role they can play at the inaugural conference on 30th November. We will also be sharing details of some of the key speakers that we have confirmed for the conference, as well doing the last push for potential presentations.” Spaces at this event are now limited, and if you would like to secure yours, please email isla.stewart@mearns-gill.com by Friday 3rd August.
Anderton Concrete says it is ‘bucking the industry trend’ for long delivery times, thus ensuring its customers’ projects are not delayed. By comparison with timber – which has a reported waiting time of two months according to recent research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and is commonly used for fencing projects – Anderton Concrete, part of Ibstock plc, can deliver to customers within 2-3 days from ordering. This allows Anderton to provide its customers with continuity of supply so they can take advantage of the sales opportunities which come their way. This will place them in a competitive position as the traditional sales season looks set to be extended thanks to the recent good weather. Shaun Forrester, Sales Director at Anderton Concrete, comments: “It is well known that there are longer waiting times for popular building products. We are bucking this trend and are continuing to deliver to our customers within 2-3 days of their order being placed. We are able to achieve this thanks to our strategic growth plan. Whilst we continue to invest in our production facilities, we only take on new customers when we are satisfied we have the capacity to meet their requirements, from this we can ensure our customers have continuity of supply and know that their next delivery is only a few days away as promised. “We are expecting a strong third quarter for sales and with this in mind we are advising our customers to plan ahead to ensure orders and deliveries are met efficiently. We have a proven track record of supplying precast concrete products to the construction industry, and our customers know they can reply us to give them the products they need, when they need them.”
The pressure to meet an ever-increasing demand for school places is one that has been felt by local authorities across the UK for a number of years, with the requirement for places across primary, secondary and special education on the rise. The London Borough of Hounslow is one local authority that has proactively approached the challenge and worked with its partners to devise and deliver a solution. David Nisbet, partner at Pick Everard looks at the approach and its results so far. In 2012, Hounslow Council commissioned leading property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard to deliver multiple new primary, secondary and special education needs school places over a five-year period within challenging cost parameters. The requirement for new school places in Hounslow is extensive and as such, a dedicated multidisciplinary team has been allocated to develop the new and improved facilities. The £300 million Capital Expansion Programme once completed will have delivered 3,000 new primary places, a further 5,000 in secondary education and 600 new SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) places. The story so far Since the Capital Expansion Programme was established, more than 6,000 school places have been created by the local authority: 2,840 primary school 2,820 secondary school 440 SEN Working in partnership, Pick Everard has contributed significantly to this successful outcome, with new buildings and extensions at 24 primary, infant and junior schools, and some selected secondary schools. Alongside this, the firm has also undertaken a programme of dedicated refurbishment and new build projects to expand nine of the borough’s existing SEND sites culminating in substantial new build, all through specialist schools. Facing unique challenges Unlike many traditional school expansion and improvement schemes, Hounslow presented the team with a series of unique challenges as a result of the borough’s location under the flight path for Heathrow Airport. At its busiest, one plane lands or takes off here approximately every minute – meaning potential disruption to the teaching and learning environments sitting below. Working in collaboration with our acoustic sub-consultants to undertake detailed surveys at each school to determine exactly what impact the aircraft noise has on each site and what measures must be employed to mitigate this to provide a high-quality learning environment. Findings from these early site investigations allowed us to develop an affordable yet flexible design concept, incorporating a highly insulated concrete structural envelope combined with a sophisticated ventilation strategy, balancing noise insulation with thermal comfort. This bespoke acoustic design was adapted and applied to the new buildings as well as pre-existing schools throughout the programme, demonstrating value for money while delivering top quality facilities for staff and pupils. The completed projects have all been designed to withstand the effects of the evolving environment and any impact it might bring on the schools such as the Heathrow Airport expansion. An innovative approach An important part of ensuring best value and devising the most appropriate solutions was delivering an innovative approach throughout. As well as assessing the most suitable route for each project – an extension or refurbishment, or a full new build – for each individual school requirement, we also worked to deliver savings through modern methods of construction. We also implemented BIM throughout the programme to achieve an integrated approach, advancing designs and increasing stakeholder engagement during the design. For example: BIM training through free workshops to help the client understand and use the data efficiently Producing 3D walkthroughs and visuals to share with key stakeholders Community benefits Engaging with and providing opportunities for the communities in which we work is priority for the team at Pick Everard and this programme is no different. As well as addressing the need for additional school places across Hounslow, the programme has also delivered a number of benefits for the local community. Some 30 per cent of the workforce involved in this series of projects lived within 40 miles of the site and the entire supply chain spend was delivered through SMEs – ensuring a positive economic impact locally. It is hoped that sports facilities included within school projects across the borough will be available for wider community use outside of school hours in addition to pupils and teachers during term time – creating an important legacy for local people and benefitting not only school children but their families and neighbours. Value engineering Building in value was vital for the London Borough of Hounslow, which needed to keep to strict budgets and timescales throughout the programme – and this needed to be balanced with the requirement to deliver high quality new teaching and learning spaces. As well as looking at ways to save money on the actual build costs – through developing a standardised palette of materials and considering various modern methods of construction – Pick Everard worked with the client to provide construction solutions that will deliver value through greater longevity and reduced maintenance during the whole building life. New build or extension? This was most clearly demonstrated when initial plans proposed an extension to Hounslow Town Primary School but, upon examining the project in further detail, it was identified that a new build scheme on an adjacent site would actually offer better value and provide a long-term solution to pupil provision for the local authority. Not only did this mean that the school could be delivered with less disruption, but it also acted as a catalyst for further projects, including a brand new music centre for the community to use. What next? Pick Everard is working with the London Borough of Hounslow into 2020, completing an estimated £120m of school projects across the borough. It is expected that this second phase will be completed in September 2020. The firm boasts significant experience in the education sector, especially within London having worked on hundreds of schools within the M25 boundary in recent years. For example, the firm completed ten primary school expansions and five master plans for projects within the London Borough of Richmond. Our expertise has allowed us to work in collaboration
One of Canary Wharf’s spectacular high-rises, 20 Canada Square was subject to a crucial ceiling refurbishment by specialists SAS International. With 12 floors of commercial office space offering panoramic views of London’s financial district, the building’s contemporary finish optimises plenty of natural daylight from every angle. SAS has been a major supplier to the Canary Wharf vicinity since 1995, so the client, Brookfield Properties, desired SAS’ most sought-after and latest product to feature in 20 Canada Square’s new ceiling installation, SAS330i. In order to maintain its sleek interior and exterior, refurbishments are integral to the building’s overall aesthetic. SAS worked with the client to develop a unique ceiling containing fully integrated LED lighting. SAS ensures that all ceiling designs are built for the long-term; therefore, the new SAS330i system was installed alongside other large areas of SAS330 ceilings. SAS330i offers integrated lit c-profiles to enhance light throughout the floor. Other characteristics of the ceiling design include the floating edge trim TCA0862, which lightens the room even though the ceiling is enclosed in large floating islands. Overall, the ceiling generates buoyancy and brightness to increase the room’s impact whilst remaining efficient and practical. As this was a renovation of a post-modern building, there were certain challenges to overcome. The building’s complex floor plate contained curved corners and two large atriums, meaning SAS had to supply a combination of double and single lighting modules to create floating ceilings of different sizes. Although this added to the process, it ensured that every profile in each SAS330i ceiling fitted perfectly and was lit without any inconvenience. Other additions to the ceiling included the following: each 3m length of light was furnished with two DALI dimmable drivers to enable daylight energy saving where required. PIR sensors were installed to ensure energy is saved when the space is unoccupied, and plain c-profiles created a central service zone in order for integrated sprinkler systems to be allotted in the future. The 20 Canada Square refurbishment signifies SAS’ ability to meet the project’s aesthetic and performance requirements as well as showcasing how the company goes above and beyond to ensure clients’ expectations are exceeded.
Crime Prevention Through Pro-Social Design recognises that the offender is very likely to be part of our community and that enhancing an offender’s emotional or moral attachment to an area through its design may reduce their desire or inclination to commit crimes within the community A UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield professor has investigated ways in which the design of dwellings and the layout of residential areas can deter offenders. Now, she aims to discover if better buildings and more sympathetic spaces can prevent people from turning to crime in the first place. It was while conducting research with convicted burglars that she was inspired to take this new direction. Rachel Armitage is Professor of Criminology at the University and one of her key areas has been the field termed Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), which has established that buildings and the spaces between them will experience varying levels of crime based on their design, build and management. Now, Professor Armitage has made what she describes as a significant change in her research and is focussing on what she terms Crime Prevention Through Pro-Social Design (CPTPSD). She has outlined her new ideas at a major overseas conference and will now edit a special journal exploring the concept. “CPTED treats offenders as external, as ‘outsiders’, so you protect an area by designing them out. But Crime Prevention Through Pro-Social Design recognises that the offender is very likely to be part of our community and that perhaps enhancing an offender’s emotional or moral attachment to an area may reduce their desire or inclination to commit crimes within the community,” said Professor Armitage. Secured by design As part of her designing-out-crime research, she showed a number of convicted burglars a series of photos of houses and streets, in order to discover the features that made properties and neighbourhoods most vulnerable – such as low fences, or footpaths at the back of a house. But two of the images elicited a very different response. “The offenders would say ‘I wouldn’t burgle that house because it reminds me of where I grew up’, or ‘it’s like where my grandma lives’. These were a kind of moral responses to the features of the area, as if the design sparked a feeling that it would be wrong to commit a crime against something personal to them,” said Professor Armitage. This was the trigger for her new direction, and she explored the idea when invited to deliver a keynote address at the 2018 Crime Prevention and Communities conference hosted in Melbourne by the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation. Her well-received paper was titled ‘A more reliable glimpse’: Re-positioning the offender in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. “There is a lot of research on how the design of an environment can impact on someone’s mental health – such as their vulnerability to becoming depressed, anxious or to using drugs,” said Professor Armitage. “All of those factors can increase a person’s risk of becoming an offender, so if we brought the two areas together and designed places which reduced mental illness and which reduced exclusion, then these people may feel less inclined to commit crimes in those areas.” Professor Armitage has now been invited to edit a special edition of the Journal of Social Sciences. Due to appear in 2019, it will be titled Crime Prevention Through Pro-social Design. An international call for contributions has now been made. “I am asking people to submit papers that explore how design can impact on offending from a very different perspective. It is a matter of designing in pro-social behaviour,” said Professor Armitage. “Designing out crime definitely still has a place and we have come a long way towards embedding this into our planning system. I was involved in that. But I think CPTED needs to evolve.”
Former England footballer Graeme Le Saux has been announced as this year’s guest speaker at the annual Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) Education Awards. Graeme will lead the celebrations, which will recognise the outstanding educational achievements of the door hardware industry’s rising stars at the Royal Lancaster hotel in London on 8 November. As well as his role in the national team, Graeme also played for Chelsea Southampton and Blackburn Rovers, helping the latter win the Premier League in 1995. Since his retirement from football in 2005, Graeme has worked as a pundit for the BBC and frequently undertakes project work with the FA, UEFA, FIFA and the Premier League. The GAI Education Awards include Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for the top students in the Diploma and the Pinnacle Award, sponsored by ASSA ABLOY, for the student with the best aggregate results over the three years of the Diploma programme. The GAI Diploma is designed to give students a high level of product knowledge and the ability to write accurate hardware specifications and quotations. The qualification is particularly suited to those in customer service, contract management, scheduling and estimating, and sales. GAI president, David Stacey, said: “The Education Awards is a great opportunity to recognise students’ hard work over the past three years. It is also a chance for companies to celebrate the individuals within their teams who are going above and beyond to offer architects and contractors high-quality technical knowledge.” The only recognised architectural ironmongery qualification in the world, the Guild’s education programme has been running for more than 50 years, training future generations of architectural ironmongers to British and European standards. This year’s GAI Education Awards is sponsored by dormakaba. To book your tickets to the 2018 GAI Education Awards, visit the GAI website: httZp://www.gai.org.uk/events-117/gai-education-awards2018/book-here?prv=1