GLM Reflects on a Brilliant Award Season

2014 has been a year of high excitement for GLM with the Inn at John O’Groats being shortlisted for several awards.  In April a “Highly Commended” recognition from RICS Scotland kicked the season off.  In May, the Inn made the international longlist for World Architecture News’ Colour in Architecture Award and uniquely, in failing to get to the shortlist, received a mention in the official announcement. The publication commented, “one project that narrowly missed a place on the shortlist was GLM’s Natural Retreats at John O’Groats as a result of its strong use of colour.”

In June, to our intense delight, we won a Scottish Design Award in the regeneration category along with RMJM’s Commonweath Athlete’s Village.  A few weeks later, to crown it all, we won the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s very prestigious Tourism & Visitor Facilities Award and the Forestry Commission Scotland/Wood for Good special category award for best use of timber.

Team GLM at the 2014 RICS Awards, Scottish Design Awards and RIAS Awards. 

But the season isn’t over yet. On the heels of the RIAS Awards, GLM – along with the evening’s other winners – will compete for the RIAS Doolan Award for Architecture. The award is bestowed upon the best building in Scotland and will be  presented in Edinburgh in November. It is the largest architectural prize in the UK and one of the most significant architecture awards in the world.

Other accolades include shortlistings in the Herald Property Awards for which GLM will be up against Edinburgh’s Advocate’s Close and the European Hotel Design Awards which sees GLM listed with major international hotels like the 25 Hours Hotel in Berlin. Both awards will be presented in the coming months.

For GLM these awards have been a welcome recognition of our brilliant architects.  It’s also a pat on the back for the whole practice because John O’Groats was the product of an in-house collaboration between architects, building surveyors, project managers and GLM’s construction management team.