Yorkshire buildings make global structural excellence list

Three Yorkshire buildings have been nominated for a prestigious global structural engineering award.

The Leeds First Direct Arena, Leeds Trinity shopping centre and Ripon’s Bishop Edward King Chapel have all been shortlisted for the Institution of Structural Engineers’ 2013 awards.

Amongst a global shortlist including German, Georgian and Chinese projects, the Yorkshire buildings have held their own.

Arup worked on the First Direct Arena that boasts a 13,500 capacity and was designed to meet stringent acoustic requirements.

Judges commented on the thoroughness of the design that allowed the “difficult” city centre site to be exploited in an effective way.

The panel commented: “The arena is a great example of good engineering overcoming multiple challenges arising from this very compact city centre site. This certainly gives the city a real asset for the future.”

The Leeds Trinity shopping centre was designed by multi-national Sinclair Knight Merz and is nominated for its 3700m2 eight-part roof that fits a “geometrically demanding” space.

Judges said of architects, Chapman Taylor’s design: “The structural engineers have produced an efficient and clean design that exceeds the client’s expectations.

“The optimisation and stability analysis of the complete roof together with the careful detailing of the supports demonstrates their great skills in this field.”

Elsewhere, the Bishop Edward King Chapel at Ripon College in Cuddesdon was listed for its slender timber structure and elliptical geometry.

Commenting on Nial McLaughlin Architects’ design, the judges said: “A deep understanding of the use of timber, and how to join it appropriately, has led to this magnificent structure. This chapel is clearly an inspirational building for its users, and this is down to extraordinary skills in designing and innovating with timber.”

The winners of the awards will be announced at The Structural Awards ceremony in London on November 15.

Y.K Cheng, President of The Institution of Structural Engineers, said: “Structural engineers make an absolutely vital contribution ensuring that our urban environments are safe and secure yet their work often goes unrecognised.

“The Institution of Structural Engineers holds The Structural Awards each year to showcase the dizzying variety of challenging environments in which engineers work and the highly complex structures they help to raise.

“The aim is to recognise the astonishing range of skills that characterise our global profession, raise awareness among the general public, and encourage young people into exciting structural engineering careers.”