The Environment Agency, Team Van Oord and Jacobs enjoyed unparalleled success at the 2014 British Construction Industry (BCI) Awards ceremony in London on 8 October.
The partners received two awards, including the top award of the night, The Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award, which is sponsored by The Cabinet Office. The other win was the Civil Engineering Project of the Year (£10m to £50m) Award.
Both awards were for the Medmerry Managed Realignment Scheme in West Sussex. The scheme was commissioned by the Environment Agency, with Team Van Oord as principal contractor and Jacobs as consultant.
The BCI Awards recognize all round excellence in construction, including the overall design and delivery of buildings and civil engineering projects.
The 27th BCI Awards ceremony – the largest to date – was staged at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane where more than 1,200 of the industry elite celebrated construction and engineering excellence.
Maurits den Broeder, Chairman of Team Van Oord , said: “ We were thrilled to win the Civil Engineering Project of the Year, and humbled by The Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award. These awards are testament to the foresight of those at the Environment Agency, who commissioned the scheme, the design talents of the team at Jacobs, and the skill and determination of our team, who were tasked with delivery. Medmerry can provide a blueprint for many of the other vital coastal management and realignment schemes that will be delivered across the UK in the coming decades. ”
Opened in November 2013, the Medmerry flood defense project involved the construction of four miles of new sea walls to reduce the flood risk to hundreds of properties in the area. The lifesaving defenses held firm throughout last year’s floods and the scheme has been hailed as a gold standard of flood defense in the UK.
The project also created a new wetland for local wildlife to flourish and much of the site is now managed by the RSPB as a nature reserve.
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Press Release, October 15, 2014