The spectacular new home to De Montfort University Leicester’s (DMU) art and design courses has been nominated for two more awards.
The Vijay Patel Building has been shortlisted for both Best Educational Building and Best Large Commercial Project at the Local Authority Building Control 2017 Building Excellence Awards for the East Midlands.
The categories look for how well-managed the construction project was, how sensitive the design is to the local environment, along with the innovation and sustainability it demonstrates.
Work on the Vijay Patel Building completed last year, with students from DMU’s art and design courses moving across in stages.
The building is named after Dr Vijay Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Waymade Healthcare. Dr Patel, a graduate of DMU's Leicester School of Pharmacy, and his wife Mrs Patel have made the single biggest donation by individuals in DMU's history.
Umesh Desai, Director of Estates and Commercial Services at DMU, said: “We wanted to make a truly creative building to inspire art and design students who study there. But we also wanted to construct a building and environment which is a credit to Leicester.
“So we are proud to receive these nominations, which are a testament to the work we have done.”
The building is already award-winning, having been named the best new building in Leicester by the city’s Civic Society.
The Leicester Civic Society described the Vijay Patel Building as “extremely impressive and uncompromisingly modern” but “in scale and harmony with its important historic surroundings.”
And it awarded the construction its 2016 award for New Build complementing the Historic Built Environment of the City of Leicester.
The society also honoured DMU’s work to renovate Friars Mill, in Bath Lane – home to DMU’s Research, Business and Innovation office.
The development, designed to spark collaboration and encourage business growth, was named Best Restoration Project.
The Grade II listed building, which was transformed from a scorched shell into the £7.1million office space, was described by society chairman Stuart Bailey as ‘a wonder of our age’.
The winners of the LABC 2017 Building Excellence Awards for East Midlands will be announced on Friday June 9.
Posted on Monday 10 April 2017