London’s Park Plaza Westminster Bridge was buzzing with excitement on Thursday, 27 February 2025 as it played host to the highly anticipated CIBSE Building Performance Awards. The event recognized the outstanding achievements of individuals, organizations, products, and projects in the built environment, setting new standards for sustainability, innovation, and performance. The ceremony was emceed by renowned comedian Marcus Brigstocke.
This year’s BPAs boasted an impressive 30 categories, showcasing the vital contributions from various disciplines that shape the future of the built environment. Key categories included Best Digital Innovation, Project of the Year, Product or Innovation of the Year, and Building Performance Champion.
The Engineer of the Year award was presented to Volkan Doda, Head of Design Technologies at Atelier Ten. Doda’s exceptional creativity and dedication have made him a leader in building performance. His expertise in theory and application sets the bar for cutting-edge solutions, and his commitment to nurturing talent has earned him high praise from his peers.
The title of Building Performance Champion and Project of the Year – Retrofit Workplaces was awarded to The Entopia Building, a collaborative effort between Max Fordham, Architype, and BDP. This remarkable project in Cambridge transformed a 1930s structure into a cutting-edge sustainability hub, showcasing groundbreaking applications of circular economy principles. With Passivhaus EnerPHit certification and multiple other sustainability accolades, The Entopia Building sets a new standard for environmentally conscious design, achieving an impressive 84% reduction in whole-life carbon compared to standard retrofits.
The event highlighted the industry’s remarkable talent and innovation. Among the highly commended entries were the Passive Cooling Double-skin Roof by Universidad de Sevilla in the Product or Innovation of the Year – Thermal Comfort category and the Aldar Energy Retrofit Project by grfn in Project of the Year – Portfolio Workplaces, showcasing a wealth of inspiring achievements. The BPAs once again demonstrated CIBSE’s commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in the built environment. By showcasing outstanding achievements and raising the bar for industry standards, the Awards inspire the entire sector to strive for sustainable, efficient, and people-centered solutions.
The full list of winners includes:
Building Performance Champion: The Entopia Building – Max Fordham, Architype & BDP
Best Digital Innovation – Organizational Strategy: Cyclops – Foster + Partners
Best Digital Innovation – Project Delivery: Sydney Airport International Terminal T1 Chilled Water Plant Optimisation – A.G. Coombs Group, Exergenics
Building Performance Consultancy (over 300 employees): AtkinsRéalis, sponsored by ABB
Building Performance Consultancy (up to 50 employees): Cyclone Energy Group, sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric
Building Performance Consultancy (51 – 300 employees): XCO2, sponsored by Airflow
CIBSE Embodied Carbon Award – Products and Systems: for Manufacturers and Suppliers: Apollo Fire Detectors, sponsored by CIBSE Certification
CIBSE Embodied Carbon Award – Services and Projects for Consultants: Q Sustain, sponsored by CMR
Client of the Year: London Borough of Islington
Collaboration: L&G’s Symphony Model – Legal & General, Demand Logic, Bellrock and Partners, sponsored by CIBSE Lifecycle Carbon Assessment Training
Engineer of the Year: Volkan Doda, Head of Design Technologies – Atelier Ten, sponsored by Ideal Heating Commercial
Facilities Management: 20 Fenchurch Street – Savills, sponsored by Gratte Brothers Group
Leadership: Swire Properties
Learning and Development: The ZERO teaching and internship program on zero-carbon energy buildings – ZERO Institute, University of Oxford, sponsored by BCIA
Product or Innovation of the Year – Air Quality: The Pluvo Column – Pluvo, sponsored by CIBSE Patrons
Product or Innovation of the Year – Thermal Comfort: Optimum Air Conditioning System – EcoTechX
Product or Innovation of the Year – Wellbeing: Nature Connect – Signify
Project of the Year – Residential: Agar Grove 1b – Max Fordham, sponsored by Crane Fluid Systems
Project of the Year – Retrofit Workplaces: The Entopia Building – Max Fordham, Architype & BDP, sponsored by Crane Fluid Systems
Project of the Year – New Build Workplaces: Globe Point, Temple – Hoare Lea, sponsored by Crane Fluid Systems
Project of the Year – Portfolio Workplaces: Cathedral Hill Industrial Estate,13 units – SRE, sponsored by Crane Fluid Systems
The following entries were highly commended:
Best Digital Innovation – Project Delivery: Paper Trails to Digital Triumphs – Savills
Building Performance Consultancy (over 300 employees): Buro Happold, sponsored by ABB
Building Performance Consultancy (51 – 300 employees): Max Fordham, sponsored by Airflow
CIBSE Embodied Carbon Award – Services and Projects: for Consultants: AECOM, sponsored by CMR
