The Tun grabs BCO Award for UK Commercial Workplace.

Celebrating in style on Tuesday evening at the Grosvenor, Park Lane John Shepherd, of Whiteburn, developers of The Tun, was delighted to collect two BCO awards for not only: the Scottish regional category for Commercial Workplace; but also the prestigious UK prize. The British Council of Offices primary objective is to define excellence in office space and the awards reflect this.

The criteria for the judges when evaluating projects included the effectiveness of the delivered workplace as a place to do business and the degree to which others could benefit by adopting ideas from the project into future work.

John Shepherd enthused “ We are thrilled to get such recognition on a national platform for procuring a building which clearly satisfies the 21st century workspace needs of a diverse range of occupiers, such as we have at The Tun. This fits Whiteburn’s philosophy of tackling challenging urban sites and generating high quality imaginative and integrated solutions.”

Included in the party was Allan Murray, architect for The Tun, John McGregor, development adviser, and also representatives of two of the key tenants, Michael Bird OBE, Director of British Council Scotland and Tim Mee, from BBC Property.

Mr Bird, one of The Tun’s most enthusiastic tenants, commented “In every way The Tun is different from our previous premises; in every way it has fulfilled our expectations; in every way that we expected (and in many ways that we did not anticipate) it has made a positive impact on staff and visitors alike.”

For further information contact
John Shepherd, Whiteburn tel: m 07850 789631
Visit http://www.the-tun.co.uk
Photography available on request.

Notes for Editors

The Project Team:

Developer: Whiteburn Holyrood Ltd
Architect: Allan Murray Architects
Letting Agent: McGregor, Chartered Surveyors
Contractor: Melville Dundas
Engineers: Arup Scotland
Quantity Surveyors: CBA
Funders: The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
Managing Agents: CBRE Richard Ellis

Tenants located at The Tun include BBC Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish & Newcastle, Scottish Parliament, Commission for Racial Equality, European Parliament, British Council Scotland, and Siam Erawan.

The Tun development was an integral part of the master plan originally envisaged for the Holyrood North Site. The whole site covers some 4.5 acres, which based on the John Hope layout, Development Services Partnership Limited split into 17 individual plots. The total development cost was about £50 million although the development value is now probably at least double that figure. Adding to the diversity and range of amenities within the area, Whiteburn have secured Pizza Express, the national restaurant operator, as tenant for the adjacent Clock Tower site. The redevelopment is underway with Pizza Express due to commence their fitout in the New Year. Up above the developer is creating a unique apartment space with terrace overlooking Salisbury Crags.