Transport awards recognise SGP’s Transport Architecture Growth

A recent raft of high-profile award wins has thrown the spotlight on the quality, buildability, and creativity of SGP’s transportation projects.

Explains Alistair Branch, Partner at SGP: “Because many transportation projects have a long gestation period, we are seeing builds that we’ve been working on for months or years now winning prestigious awards. Stevenage Bus Interchange has won the Project of the Year category in the Herts & Beds round of the CE Awards whilst our Technical Delivery of Broadmarsh Bus Station & Car Park, in addition to being highly commended in Project of Year category, has won the Integration & Collaborative Working award in East Midlands heats. These projects will now go forward to the national awards, which will be held on Friday 18 November 2022.”

The wins for Stevenage and Broadmarsh come hot on the heels of Halifax Bus Station’s shortlisting for Infrastructure Project of the Year at the inaugural UKREiiF Awards 2022, with SGP as the only architect named in the shortlists.

Continues Alistair: “We are delighted that projects we have created and delivered are now being recognised for the team’s design flair, technical expertise and understanding of the market and construction practicality. We see this boding well for projects currently in the pipeline, as well as projects such as the Dudley Very Light Railway Innovation Centre, which we have just delivered.”

The transportation team’s current projects cover a range of values, from impressive regionally significant schemes such as the £40million Halifax railway station and gateway scheme and the £18million Halifax Bus station redevelopment, to smaller scale but locally important projects such as the £5million improvements to facilities and amenities at Heckmondwike Bus station and building a new travel centre within the existing passenger concourse at Bradford Interchange.

Alistair goes on: “We have been chosen for projects with a wide range of values – from £300,000 to £40 million and are working with a similarly strong group of clients, including local authorities, key regional transport bodies and other local and regional stakeholders. Public transport is key in so many ways. It’s often the kick start project that triggers the economic regeneration of an area, such as Stevenage Bus Interchange, boosts regional growth by improving connectivity between population centres, or brings new cultural life to town or city centres by linking local amenities, as in Halifax. Developing sustainable public transport is a keystone in the green agenda, and we take this further by embodying sustainability into the buildings themselves.”

Since SGP’s Transport Sector was formed in 2016 when Alistair Branch joined the business, the sector has grown rapidly to one of the leading sectors within the business and has already seen a diverse portfolio of projects completed nationally including a Rail depot / training centre for Nexus, Bus Interchanges, Multi Storey Car Parks, Light Rail National Innovation centre, Airport Hangers and a Travel Centre fit out programme

SGP is currently delivering a number of other significant stations including the ambitious Selby Station Gateway improvements, transformation of Huddersfield Bus Station and its surroundings, and the comprehensive redevelopment of Bradford Forster Square Station.

SGP Transport team has also seen success in getting onto key Frameworks such as Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) Professional Services Framework and the CCS Framework in strategic partnership with Costain and hope to access more opportunities by being accepted onto others throughout the UK.

Concludes Alistair: “Our new London office is a key stepping stone in supporting our drive to access clients and frameworks nationally and getting the SGP name and Transport Architecture expertise in Road and Rail Infrastructure known to a wider audience. We have developed strong working relationships with clients, consultants, and contractors, dealing with multiple stakeholders and complicated processes, skilled in supporting the business case process and development brief with opportunities and options to improve site outcomes. We have built trust in our team’s abilities by applying technical expertise and design creativity to beautiful and buildable stations.  As a team and as a company, we continue to strive for excellence in public transport, developing the sector and gaining national recognition for our transport architecture.”