St Mary's building project in for award

A Banbridge primary school has been shortlisted in the prestigious RICS Northern Ireland Awards 2018.
The new St Marys Primary School building at Reilly Park in the town has been shortlisted in the Community Benefit category.The new St Marys Primary School building at Reilly Park in the town has been shortlisted in the Community Benefit category.
The new St Marys Primary School building at Reilly Park in the town has been shortlisted in the Community Benefit category.

The annual awards recognise exemplary built projects, and the teams behind them, that contribute positively to Northern Ireland and this year the awards have seen the highest number of entries in their 28 year history.

The new St Mary’s Primary School building at Reilly Park in the town has been shortlisted in the Community Benefit category.

The 17 classroom facility which opened last year provides an attractive, modern and sustainable building for Banbridge and its surrounding communities.

St Mary’s Primary School has been an integral part of the local community in Banbridge for many years and the new building was designed to enable it to continue to deliver quality education to the local community in modern, state-of-the-art surroundings for many generations to come.

As well as a focus on being environmentally friendly and offering interactive technology in all classrooms, the building was designed so that the centrally located entrance offers a clear and welcoming area for visitors arriving at the school. The multi-purpose halls are able to be used flexibly by the school and the wider community outside school hours.

VB Evans and Company were surveyors for the project while Isherwood and Ellis Architects and Glasgiven Contracts also worked on the building.

The local project joins 34 other shortlisted building projects from across Northern Ireland at the RICS Awards 2018, which will be held at The La Mon Hotel & Spa, Belfast on May 24.

A wide variety of projects have been shortlisted across the eight categories of the awards scheme – Building Conservation, Commercial sponsored by Sika, Community Benefit, Design through Innovation sponsored by Forbo, Infrastructure, Regeneration, Residential and Tourism and Leisure.

The winners of each category will also be in with a chance of winning the top prize, the highly esteemed Project of the Year title, presented to the scheme which demonstrates overall outstanding best practice and an exemplary commitment to adding value to its local area.

Michael Hannaway, Chair of the RICS Awards Northern Ireland judging panel, said: “Despite the uncertainty in the current climate, Northern Ireland’s property professionals continue to deliver exemplary, and in many cases, world-class built projects that are having a profoundly positive impact.

“I am delighted to see so many of these remarkable built initiatives on this year’s shortlist for the 2018 RICS Awards, Northern Ireland.

“The exceptional talent and skills of the teams and surveyors behind these schemes is nothing short of remarkable, and I wish them all the best of luck in gaining the recognition they deserve for ensuring their local communities remain fantastic places to live, work, and visit.”