Constructing Excellence North East Awards 2025 winners
The Constructing Excellence North East Awards 2025, held in Newcastle, honoured organisations, projects and individuals for their contributions to the built environment and the region’s construction industry.
Winners included Newcastle University, NORR Consultants Ltd, Bowmer+Kirkland, Identity Consult, JH Partners, Shed, One Environments, Apex Acoustics and ELG Planning, who took home the Building Project of the Year award for the Stephenson Building Redevelopment.
Judges described the redevelopment as “a truly visionary development that brings together multiple disciplines to form an inclusive, collaborative and future-ready learning hub”.
Newcastle University was also named Client of the Year, while Iain Garfield was recognised for his Outstanding Contribution to the Construction Industry.
In his former role as director of estates and facilities, Mr Garfield was praised for his leadership and vision in delivering a broad portfolio of major capital projects.
Catriona Lingwood, chief executive at Constructing Excellence North East, said: “We say it every year, but it’s worth repeating – the standard of entries this year was nothing short of outstanding.
“The quality and innovation shown made judging incredibly tough, and we’re grateful to our panel who took on the challenge.
“Hearing the joy from our winners was a real highlight, and whether you took home a trophy, received a Highly Commended, or were shortlisted – you should be incredibly proud of your achievements.
“A huge thank you to all our sponsors, with special appreciation for our Headline Sponsor, CDM Recruitment, whose support over the past eight years has been fantastic – they are a pleasure to work with and to everyone who donated to The Heel and Toe Children’s Charity.”
Space Architects collected two awards, winning the ESG and Regeneration and Conservation categories for their Remaking Beamish project, delivered alongside Beamish Museum, Thornton Firkin, Brims Construction, BGP, Kyoob and Todd Milburn.
They were also highly commended in the Regeneration and Conservation category for their work on Hopetown Darlington, alongside Wilmott Dixon Construction and Darlington Borough Council.
MGL Group earned top honours in both the Climate Action and Innovation categories, with judges highlighting their efforts to decarbonise road construction, promote circular economy principles and support local authorities in reaching their 2030 net zero targets.
Other winners on the night included Aptus Construction (SME of the Year), A&N Safety Consultants (Special Recognition) and Seymour Civil Engineering (People and Culture).
The Hexham General Hospital Refurbishment Project Phase 2 team won the Integration and Collaborative Working award.
The evening also raised more than £10,000 for the Heel and Toe Children’s Charity, which supports children with physical disabilities and complex needs.
Sponsors for the event included Applebridge Geoenvironmental, AtkinsRealis, Centurion Fire Safety Solutions, DAC Beachcroft, GSSArchitecture, K2 Construction Management, Northumbrian Water Group, Remagin, Robertson Construction, Tilbury Douglas, Weightmans LLP and Thompsons of Prudhoe.
Highly commended projects included the Metrocentre Community Diagnostics Centre, Browney Curve Stabilisation and The Story at Mount Oswald.
Additional honours went to the Northumbria Health and Care Academy and Drive Thru Starbucks project, and the Riverside MSCP in Sunderland.
The awards are part of the wider Constructing Excellence movement, which aims to drive innovation, collaboration and best practice across the construction sector.