Nightingale hospital in running for top industry award
person
Tim Dixon
Published: 4:00 PM September 24, 2021
Exeter's NHS Nightingale hospital under construction
Exeter's NHS Nightingale hospital under construction - Credit: ICE
The importance of civil engineering to the South West is being highlighted at the region’s top industry awards, with infrastructure projects of all shapes and sizes displaying how they have made a difference for local communities.
The winners of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South West Civil Engineering Awards 2021 will be announced by Rob Bell, TV presenter and engineer, on Thursday 30 September at a gala ceremony in the Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel.
Ten projects from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire and Somerset are vying to walk away with a prize after a year that has seen civil engineers battle to overcome the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, keeping complex infrastructure works on track or delivering emergency schemes at breakneck speed.
This year’s finalists include a COVID emergency homeless housing project, a canal restoration, an NHS Nightingale hospital, a railway resilience project, a major nuclear tunnelling scheme and the region’s biggest multi-disciplinary arts and heritage space.
Rob Bell, who can currently be seen on Channel 5, presenting, Lighthouses: Building the Impossible, is hosting the awards for the first time. He hopes they will reinforce the vital role played by civil engineers in the region where he also studied engineering:
Rob said: “During the coronavirus lockdowns, people connected with their surroundings and their local infrastructure a lot more. I hope this has helped to raise awareness of how civil engineering benefits all our lives. As a graduate of engineering at the University of Bath, I welcome this opportunity to further reinforce the message that the region’s engineers are working to make things better for communities and tackling society’s biggest challenges, whether that’s the global pandemic or climate change.”
The awards ceremony will be the first time that the civil engineering industry in the region has come together in person since the COVID-19 outbreak. Craig Small, Operations Director, Kier Infrastructure (Major Projects), representing the main awards sponsor, Kier BAM, said: “We’re delighted to support these prestigious regional awards. The exceptionally high quality of entrants year on year truly showcases the breadth and depth of civil engineering talent within our region. The Kier BAM team wish all the projects the very best of luck!”
For those not able to attend the ceremony, the award winners will be revealed on the ICE South West Twitter account @ICESouthWest between 9:50 and 10:15pm on 30 September.
Full details of all the shortlisted projects and awards sponsors are available at ice.org.uk/sw/awards.