Rochdale's One Riverside wins BCO 'Best of the Best' Award

Number One Riverside has been recognised by this year's prestigious BCO Awards (British Council of Offices) as providing the 'Best Corporate Workplace' and also won its 'Best of the Best' award.

The project delivers a new civic hall for Rochdale Borough Council, with office space that has enabled the rationalisation of the Lancashire authority's estate from 33 different sites into this single building.

Gillespies delivered the landscape proposals for this landmark scheme, which is set to act as a catalyst for the revitalisation of Rochdale Town Centre and the regeneration of the Borough.

Located within the East Quarter of Rochdale, the Number One Riverside development provides the first phase of the wider masterplan in this area, capitalising and rejuvenating the towns natural asset - The River Roch. The scheme also sets the tone and aspiration for distinctive and high quality design in the town centre.

Working closely with FaulknerBrown architects, Gillespies delivered a unique and harmonious scheme that responds to this unique riverside context and the town's rich textile heritage, with a strong linear structure to both the hard and soft landscape treatments. The River Roch is at the heart of the landscape design.

The riverside gardens provide year round interest and marginal planting areas that increase the ecological value of the river corridor. These marginal planting areas also provide attenuation for surface run off from external areas and flood alleviation from the River Roch in extreme storm events.

This project has also received a Civic Trust Commendation and RIBA North West Awards in 2014.