Excellence Awards 2024

Creativity, innovation, technical expertise and skilful execution

Now in its eleventh year, the Schüco Excellence Awards is an established and prestigious showcase for the best in façade design, covering projects both large and small, in urban and rural locations, and designed by practices and specialist contractors of all sizes.

2024 winners

edit- dMFK_Chancery House_Courtyard Exterior_Copyright Jack Hobhouse

Commercial and Mixed-Use Development

Health, Culture and Leisure Building

Education Building

Refurbishment and Adaptive Reuse Building

Residential Development

Individual House

Individual House Improvement

Major Project

Steel Building

Sustainable Building

Specialist Contractor

Overall Winner

Meet the judges

Excellent façade design requires imagination, technical expertise, skilful delivery and, above all, close collaboration. The latter is particularly important as, without the input of an inventive and rigorous architect, a responsive and forward thinking manufacturer, and a flexible yet pragmatic specialist contractor, façade designs will rarely if ever reach their full potential. Alongside these attributes, the Awards also highlighted the importance of good environmental design, including daylighting, solar control, ventilation, and energy performance; fundamental issues given our Climate Emergency. In their assessment of the projects, the judges focused on four key qualities:

Creativity
Does the project demonstrate design quality, whether on a macro and/or micro scale?

Innovation
Is there evidence of significant innovation in terms of design, detail or constructional skills?

Technical skill
Does the project show high levels of technical skill in its detailed design and/or assembly?

Creative collaboration
Does the project demonstrate a productive and creative collaboration between the designer, specialist contractor and/or manufacturer?

Holly Gallbraith

Associate

Niall McLaughlin Achitects

Associate at Níall McLaughlin Architects, whose Master’s Field Development in Oxford was the overall winner of the 2022 Schüco Awards. She is closely involved in the practice’s higher education, schools, and private residential projects.

Ben Heath

Principal

Grimshaw Architects

Principal at Grimshaw Architects, whose Bath Schools of Art
and Design project was the overall winner of the 2023 Schüco Excellence Awards. He has a deep interest in the use of digital tools and how they can enhance the design and delivery of the built environment.

Steve Mudie

Partner

Turner & Townsend Alinea

Façade director at Turner & Townsend alinea, with more
than 40 years of industry experience. He maintains excellent
relationships with clients, consultants and the façade
industry as a whole, and has been a judge for all 11 of the
Schüco Excellence Awards.

Carol Patterson

Director

OMA

Director at OMA, whose Brighton College project won the Education and Health Buildings category in the 2020 Schüco Awards. Current projects include The Factory, a performing arts centre in Manchester.

Innes Johnston

Senior partner

Max Fordham

Senior partner at Max Fordham with substantial experience of working on high-profile cultural and arts buildings, including Bristol Old Vic. He is also a keen advocate of Soft Landings.

Vicki Odili

Co-Director

TP Bennett

Co-director of Sustainability at tp bennett, whose 11 & 12 Wellington Place scheme in Leeds won the Major Project category at last year’s Schüco Excellence Awards. She is a vocal advocate for collaboration to achieve more sustainable outcomes across the industry.

Damien Rogan

Director

Eckersley O’Callaghan

Director of Eckersley O’Callaghan Engineers, one of the largest façade engineering groups in the UK, and a leading expert in his field. He sits on the Board of the Society of Façade Engineering, and is a member of the CWCT sustainability steering committee.

Adarsh Raina

Head of Façade Engineering UK

Ramboll

Director – Head of Façade Engineering UK at Ramboll, a global architecture, engineering and consultancy company. He leads a team of façade engineers who are passionate about creating sustainable and innovative solutions for the built environment.

Isabel Allen

Editor

Archtecture Today

Editor of Architecture Today and editorial director of BEAM (Built Environment and Architecture Media). She is a member of the National Panel for the Civic Trust Awards and an honorary fellow of the RIBA.