BCO Awards Reveal the UK’s Best Offices

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08 October 2025

The British Council for Offices’ annual National Awards have revealed an exciting shift in office design – customer experience taking centre stage.

For the first time, the ceremony presented awards for customer experience, a new category that focuses on how well the UK’s offices are serving their occupants.

An office designed entirely around circular economy principles and a former infirmary transformed into a modern office and events space were also highlighted.

 

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Great Portland Estates’ fully managed office space at the Woolyard development in London Bridge, SE1, won the “Customer Experience – Commercial Landlord” award. The judges called the service “game-changing”, with building managers understanding client needs and providing a genuine sense of care. Traditional building manager roles are customer-facing, with customer experience leads having a direct line to the CEO.

Also under the customer experience category, Natwest’s offices at 250 Bishopsgate, EC2 took the prize for “Customer Experience – Corporate Occupier”. NatWest’s commitment to capturing the voices of 9,000 colleagues through various surveys to directly inform customer strategy was praised by the BCO’s judges. The space offers acoustically optimised areas, inviting rooftop spaces and a central auditorium.

Taking home two awards, for “Corporate Workplace” and “Best of the Best”, was Unusual HQ in Northamptonshire, home of lighting and stage engineering solutions provider Unusual Rigging. This office was built entirely on circular economy principles, and will be able to be disassembled and reused at the end of its life.

The Edinburgh Futures Institute, the site of Scotland’s oldest voluntary hospital, took the prize for “Innovation” due to the construction techniques used to restore and enhance the building. This included the use of low-energy, breathable linings, such as Diathonite plaster and wood wool boards. The project design team was led by AtkinsRéalis, and included architects Bennetts Associates and construction partner Balfour Beatty.

Make Architects Founder Ken Shuttleworth won the 2025 “President’s Award”, in recognition of his portfolio of iconic, innovative and sustainable buildings including HSBC in Hong Kong and London’s Canary Wharf.

The Full List of Winners

 

• Best of the Best – Unusual HQ, Northampton  
• Corporate Workplace – Unusual HQ, Northampton  
• Commercial Workplace – One Station Hill, Reading 
• Fit Out of Workplace – Capital Group, 1 Paddington Square, London 

Highly commended – Dojo Bristol

• Projects up to 2,500m² – Englefield Estate Yard, Reading

 Highly commended – The Living Lab, London

• Refurbished/Recycled Workplace – Norton Folgate, London

Highly commended – Foundation, Altrincham

• Innovation – The Edinburgh Futures Institute, Edinburgh

Highly commended – Oldham Spindles, Oldham

• ESG – Eden, Salford 

Highly commended – 11 Belgrave, London

• Test of Time – BBC Wales, Cardiff
• Customer Experience, Commercial Landlord – Woolyard, London

Highly commended – Here East, Stratford

• Customer Experience, Corporate Occupier – 250 Bishopsgate, London

Highly commended – Cadworks, Glasgow (Ovo Energy)

• President’s Award – Ken Shuttleworth, Make Architects

 

Picture: a photograph taken at night showing the exterior of the Unusual HQ. Image Credit: C&W

 

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 08 October 2025

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