Patrick Parsons Project Wins RICS Award
6 May 2015
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) recently held this year’s North East Renaissance Awards, with a Patrick Parsons’ project featuring among the winners.
Hexham Abbey was named the winning project in the Tourism & Leisure category, an award that honours projects that make an excellent contribution to tourism and leisure facilities in the region or their locality.
Patrick Parsons worked on the £2.2million Heritage Lottery Fund project to improve visitor facilities and provide educational, exhibition and communal spaces. Providing civil and structural engineering services, the aim was to create new visitor spaces within the Grade II listed buildings including converting a monastic workshop into an environmentally controlled exhibition area and a new porch entrance to the abbey itself.
The judges described the project as “a beautifully designed, well delivered new build and refurbishment project which provides important tourism and leisure facilities with both regional and local impact.”
“The team behind the project are to be congratulated for creating facilities fit for the 21st century and yet so in-keeping with the spirit of monastic hospitality and rest.”
Another of Patrick Parsons’ projects, the Black Gate, Newcastle was also recognised as Highly Commended in the Building Conservation category. Patrick Parsons were involved in the refurbishment of the Grade I listed building, which was converted into a hub for historic exhibition, interpretation and education.
The RICS Awards showcase and celebrate the most inspirational build initiatives in the region and this year saw a record number of guests attend the ceremony at The Civic Centre, Newcastle on 24 April.
