The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) has announced the winners of its 2012/13 Architectural Ironmongers Specification Awards.
Organised by the GAI bi-annually in conjunction with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the awards are designed to identify and reward excellence in the specification of architectural ironmongery in five categories.
This year’s “Winner of Winners” prize was awarded to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The architectural ironmonger on the project was Allgood plc and the architect was Page / Park Architects.
The refurbishment of this stunning Grade A listed gothic building is a striking combination of matching 19th century design and craftsmanship with the fire safety, security and convenience required in a 21st century public building. As a consequence, much of the architectural ironmongery on the project was bespoke-made and the result is a stunning recreation of a Victorian interior which works seamlessly as a busy modern museum.
This “Winner of Winners” project was selected from the top projects in the competition’s five categories: Commercial Buildings, Public Health Buildings, Public Education Buildings, Hospitality/Residential Buildings, and International Buildings. The awards took place at London’s St Pancras Hotel on 25 March 2013.
“The standard of entries was extraordinarily high this year,” says GAI Chief Executive Gary Amer who chaired the judging panel made up of experienced AI and practising RIBA architects. “Just to get shortlisted is a great achievement because the competition was extremely stiff.”
Each building was inspected and assessed on its beauty, fitness for purpose, functionality, correct specification and originality. “We looked for excellence in ironmongery – projects which go beyond the ordinary to exceed expectations,” says Gary.
The awards emphasise the importance of qualified and experienced AIs as the driving force in creating ironmongery schedules that are technically correct. This in turn gives architects and clients the peace of mind of knowing that they have minimised their own exposure to risk by ensure that a qualified ironmonger has supervised the writing and sign-off of schedule.
The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers represents the majority of architectural ironmongers in the UK as well as the leading manufacturers of architectural ironmongery and is dedicated to raising standards and encouraging best practice in all aspects of the sector.
