Significantly improving the quality of the immediate environment
Allford Hall Monaghan and Morris for Urban and Civic
Contract value: £2.53m
GIA: 15,240m2
Having previously designed three new gatehouse buildings for the client, AHMM’s Alconbury Incubator is a core building of an emerging enterprise campus, based on a former airfield in Huntingdon to catalyse the masterplan of this new mixed-use development. A transparent two-storey volume kicks up to four storeys at one end to act as a beacon for the development – a larch-clad black box of flexible working spaces at the other. The timber structure contains offices, marketing rooms and break-out balconies around a glazed gallery, animating the public facade of the building.
The judges thought it ‘a unique and brilliant solution’ with clever use of materials and specification combined with careful consideration of spatial requirements and connectivity with the wider landscape. They viewed the design response as ‘delightful’, significantly improving the quality of the immediate environment.
See other winners in the RIBA Regional Awards 2015 – East