Driftways, Penzance wins at 2018 LABC Building Excellence Awards Grand Finals

Driftways, Lower Drift, Penzance, constructed by AMJ Renovations was awarded the title of Best Extension or Alteration to an Existing Home at the Grand Finals of the LABC Building Excellence Awards – one of the most recognised events on the building industry’s calendar.

A panel of industry experts judged a list of the highest quality projects from around England and Wales to reward the best in technical innovation, sustainability and design.

Nominated by the team from Cornwall Council Building Control, this project involved alterations, extensions and remodelling of a 1960's modernist copper clad water bailiffs house.

The house was originally built with the Drift Dam to supply water to west Cornwall.

Built from Cornish granite, copper cladding and a large steel-framed balcony, the house has been sustainably re-designed with insulation added, photovoltaic and solar thermal panels and an air source heat pump.

The interior is clad with birch-faced plywood to give a 1960s feel to the interior. The house had been semi-derelict for a number of years and an unsightly building on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

LABC Chief Executive Paul Everall said: "Our Building Excellence Awards are an opportunity for the industry to celebrate good practice.

"Our winners demonstrate how positive working relationships with local council building control teams achieve high quality, sustainable buildings. Our awards are unique because they recognise how this cooperation improves building standards and professionalism across the industry."

The panel of expert judges said "The internal finish pays homage to the original 60’s design and outside, the copper cladding gives a stunning quality to this very individual home. The effective use of renewables and improvements to the existing envelope significantly reduces running costs."

The Grand Final of the LABC Building Excellence Awards took place on Friday 9 November 2018 at the Westminster Park Plaza in London and was hosted by Dead Ringers star, comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw.

860 building industry professionals including contractors, architects and engineers attended the celebration to find out which projects won across the 15 hotly contested categories. 

About the LABC Building Excellence Awards

The LABC Building Excellence Awards showcase buildings and design teams that have had to tussle with complex technical or construction issues and building site constraints.  

They highlight innovative and creative solutions and building control professionalism that leads to safe, sustainable and high quality construction projects.