The headquarters of law firm Hugh James in the centre of Cardiff has been named the best corporate workplace in south Wales and the south of England.
The award for its 2 Central Square offices, was made by the British Council for Offices (BCO).
One of a number of winners, Hugh James is now in the running to be named the UK overall winner, which will be revealed by the BCO in October.
Its Two Central Square office building, which is also occupied by Cardiff University's school of journalism, fought off stiff competition from a number of other corporate workplaces from across south Wales and the south of England, including the new S4C headquarters in Carmarthen and the Elekta Cornerstone building in West Sussex.
The Foster + Partners designed building forms part of the wider Central Square development from Cardiff-based property development firm Rightacres.
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The 100,000 sq ft offices were designed with sustainability and collaborative working in mind and have achieved a BREEAM excellent rating.
Its central, internal staircase runs throughout the building and provides the quickest,method of travelling between floors and supports cross-team working. All floors are designed for open plan working and include designated quiet areas, space for confidential client calls and internal meeting areas.
The dedicated client floor comprises a large outside terrace area, and a hospitality lounge for visitors, 12 meeting rooms, plus a 120-capacity function room for Hugh James to host its own hospitality events and seminars.
There is also a subsidised café which provides high quality food and drink throughout the day to staff and guests.
Matthew Tossell, senior partner at Hugh James, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this award as recognition of the three years of collaboration that our new office at Two Central Square represents.
“Thank you to Paul McCarthy and Rightacres Property for supporting us and for accommodating our changing requirements during the planning and build phases.
Their expert advice coupled with the guidance of our exceptional professional team allowed the builders, ISG, to delivered an office which has more than matched the expectations of our design brief. The result of this close partnership approach speaks for itself.
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“The building reflects our commitment to our amazing staff and the local business community and provides a flexible working environment that promotes health and wellbeing in the workspace, both now and in the future.”
Chief executive of Rightacres Property Mr McCarthy said: “We are absolutely delighted for Hugh James’ new HQ at Two Central Square to have been named best corporate workplace in the regional awards yesterday. The project is an excellent example of how, when teams collaborate, a truly great result is the outcome.”
Andy Heath, partner at Cushman & Wakefield and BCO south of England and south Wales regional committee chair, said: "The key objectives for Hugh James was to create an incredible workplace which exceeds the expectations of the firm’s staff and clients.
"After extensive research, the resulting space is high quality and promotes staff wellbeing and collaboration.”
Two Central Square will now go up against the other regional winners at the national BCO award in London in October.
