WOKINGHAM Borough Council has been shortlisted for a prestigious architecture award.
It has been nominated for Client of the Year at this year’s Education Estates Awards, which celebrate excellence and achievement in education.
The council was nominated for the award by HLM Architects for a number of projects carried out across the area.
These include the expansion of Addington School which increased capacity for an additional 50 students, the creation of two new primary schools in Arborfield and Matthewsgreen, and the new activity centre at Dinton Pastures Country Park which will be the first net-zero carbon building in the borough.
“As a local authority it’s a real honour to be recognised in this way — we do the bread and butter stuff of building schools, leisure centres, and roads, none of which are generally thought of as exciting,” said Cllr John Kaiser, executive member for finance and housing at Wokingham Borough Council.
“But it is exciting,” he added. “We are committed to building all our projects with the best possible outcome for the school and pupils, while also making sure we work towards our objective of being carbon neutral by 2030.”
The borough council is currently investing £1 billion in infrastructure across the borough, with nearly £100 million going towards creating primary school places and nursery provisions.
“In Wokingham borough, we value all our children,” said Cllr UllaKarin Clark, executive member for children’s services at Wokingham Borough Council.
“The buildings that children spend their school days in are just as important as teaching.
“We believe in investing in our school buildings and these new facilities are state of the art and something we can be proud of as a borough.”
Claire Wakelin, studio director at HLM Architects added: “Wokingham Borough Council have consistently shown that they are a client that is motivated to provide the best possible educational settings for their pupils.
“From new schools and activity centres to enhancing existing SEN facilities, each is tailored to the individual end user’s needs and delivered with a collaborative ethos.”
Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony today.
