Going for gold

The CCS Awards recognises projects which exceed expectations to go above and beyond, celebrating businesses that demonstrate an exemplar approach to safety, planning, stakeholder engagement, site and surrounding environment, and cleanliness.

The coveted awards, held on Friday 13 May, at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, were attended by many of the City’s important figureheads, including the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor (Alderman), Vincent Keaveny, who presented the awards.

Up against some tough competition amongst London’s most celebrated contractors and sub-contractors, ISG celebrated walking away with three gold awards for sites; 160 QVS and Northcliffe House (UK fit out) and the Millennium Bridge House project (UK construction).

160 QVS

ISG’s UK fit out – agility, project team have been transforming the office space for our repeat client landlord; delivering an extensive fit out spanning across a two year delivery. From the basement plant replacement to the roof terrace development, the building has remained operational throughout and was recently handed over with a BREEAM Very Good accreditation. Alongside a previous City of London CCS gold award win, which the team were awarded back in 2021.

An exhaustive list of stakeholders – both internally and externally – saw the project team having to consider various important community groups and organisations in the local area, being proactive in understanding stakeholder needs and speaking frankly about the seriousness of any arising issues and how they would be dealt with.

Working hard to leave a lasting legacy on the project, the team collected over £22,000 in donations for a multitude of worthwhile causes, engaging again with key stakeholders in the surrounding environment to identify the projects which will have the biggest positive impact on the community.

ISG’s senior project manager on the 160 QVS development, Richard McPherson, comments: “To win a gold award two years in a row is a huge honour. But nothing happens by chance, and we’ve worked hard to foster a fantastic team culture and mutual appreciation for the environment and people around us. We’ve always seen ourselves as guests in the community, working to community requirements and not the other way around, and we’ve always been very respectful of this.”

Northcliffe House

The project team at Northcliffe House were the second of UK fit out’s sites to obtain a CCS gold award.

This historic Northcliffe House building, formerly Daily Mail’s headquarters, has seen ISG adding two additional levels to the development and refurbishing the internal spaces to the CAT A office space, alongside cleaning and repairing the original 1925 Grade-II listed façade.

After meticulous planning with key stakeholders, including the resident law chambers in Temple Inn and the City of London’s Highway and Environmental teams, the project team were awarded the gold award. Accrediting the regular stream of contact with local residents, businesses and other governing bodies, as the key to forming the excellent relationships that contributed towards the win.

This is 2nd CCS award given to this UK fit out delivery team, following a ‘Highly Commended’ award won for their delivery of the Procession House project, prior to starting on Northcliffe House.

Millennium Bridge House

The project team are refurbishing Millennium Bridge House, with a part demolition and reinstatement of 31% of the building structure, featuring a full façade replacement and roof terrace development, all taking place above four live highways.

The building and surrounding infrastructure is currently on target for a BREEAM Excellent certification – but it’s not just the environment that’s benefiting from the development. With the City of London School being one of the project’s closest stakeholders, the site team have adjusted their hours and adapted delivery times to work with the school’s exam timetable; keeping disruption to a minimum for the students taking their GCSE and A-level exams.

The team have also collected and donated over £16,000 in money and materials for various charitable causes, including providing support to a recently bereaved operative. Their most recent charitable act saw the team volunteering with Westminster community centre, Time & Talents, gardening for the residents with weakened mobility.

Brian Corridan, ISG project director at Millennium Bridge House, adds: “We are delighted to have won a gold award on a project where we’re having to undertake extensive demolition and reconstruction. We’re in close proximity to a range of different community groups, from school children to private residents, and a number of busy roads for which our building is oversailing. It is only through our close co-operation with our stakeholders that we have been able to manage this without severe disruptions. This award recognises the hard work of all those involved in the project’s delivery.”