Shortlisted for RICS Social Impact Awards 2020
November 25, 2020
The Oxford Trust’s Science Oxford Centre & the Wood Centre for Innovation building in Headington, Oxford was shortlisted for the national RICS Social Impact Award 2020 at a virtual ceremony on 24th November 2020.
We were the regional winner of the Southeast England RICS Social Impact Award in the education category earlier in the year. This put us on the Grand Final shortlist for the national awards alongside the English National Ballet (London), Teeside University and the University of Glasgow Campus Development. The competition was tough and the education prize finally went to Teeside University Student Life Building (Middlesborough). The Biosphere Newcastle won the commercial section, BIS Hartlepool for heritage, and land and rural category was taken by Harrogate’s Humberstone Bank Farm & Beyond Nature.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, or RICS, Sustainability and Social Impact Awards 2020 recognise and celebrate the impact of their profession on people’s lives. The awards showcased the best buildings at a national level and recognised the built environment’s positive and transformational contribution to society.
This is what the judges said about the Science Oxford Centre: “This centre, UK’s first indoor-outdoor science centre, has had an enormous, inspirational effect on the young people it is designed to serve. Created by The Oxford Trust, a charitable body that encourages the study of science and enterprise, it provides life-changing opportunities for young people to interact with STEM subjects in a creatively-designed environment. It has already bought huge benefits to the people of the region, successfully engaging local schools, teachers, pupils, and entrepreneurs in its activities.”
The national winners were selected from 86 regional projects and judged on their human, social and environmental impact, as well as the collaboration and innovation involved.
We were delighted to be shortlisted for the national prize in recognition of our new centres and the work we do and would like to congratulate the eventual winners, Teeside University Student Life Building.
