Building was named magazine of the year in the ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel in London’s Park Lane. This is the second time in three years that Building has won the award, which is sponsored by Marley Roof Tiles.
Former deputy editor Giles Barrie won the top individual award, IBP journalist of the year, sponsored by Ove Arup & Partners, for his work on Building. He also won the news and business/financial categories, sponsored by HBG Construction and Bovis Construction Group respectively.
This is the third time in four years that a Building journalist has taken the top prize. Last year’s winner was assistant editor Andy Cook, who this year won the environmental category, sponsored by Buro Happold.
Building’s chief reporter Michael Glackin won the Taylor Woodrow-sponsored building journalist of the year. Architectural editor Martin Spring won the architectural category, sponsored by Shepherd Design, for the second year running.
The judges praised Building’s 1998 redesign, saying the magazine had kept “the best of the old” and had not sacrificed “the news base for which it has a deservedly high reputation”.
The judges said Barrie’s article about the state of the private finance initiative was “head and shoulders” above the more than 100 other entries for the award. “It was property-building journalism at its best,” they commented.
In the environmental category, the judges were swayed by Cook’s article on fluid-filled double glazing. “This was an excellent article and would have been enjoyed by many readers beyond the magazine’s normal reach,” they said.
Glackin’s victory in the building category was principally awarded for his analysis of union problems and a “topical discussion” of the large-scale prefabrication of utility pods.
The judges praised architectural winner Spring for his “lively and descriptive style and clarity of language”.
