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Double Success for Bidwells at Oxford Property Awards

Our Oxford office is celebrating success after picking up two awards at Thursday evening’s prestigious Oxford Property Festival Awards.

15 Sep 2021 2 MINUTE READ

The awards celebrate the region's most innovative development projects and bring together the property, science and innovation community from across the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire regions.

Bidwells’ Oxford office won Development of the Year award for Zeus at Harwell Campus and our Head of Oxford office, Richard Todd, won Property Leader of the Year.

After being held virtually last year, Bidwells picked up the awards in person at Bicester Motion in Bicester, Oxfordshire. The awards are run each year by UK Property Forums.

Head of Bidwells’ Oxford office, Richard Todd, said:

“Winning two awards in one night is a brilliant achievement for us all. We’ve worked hard to expand our office and work innovatively across all our service offerings and after an unprecedented 18 months, it is a pleasure to be recognised for our hard work. Being named Property Leader of the Year is a real privilege and testament to a great team of dedicated industry colleagues and committed and progressive clients.”

Richard leads Bidwells’ project management team in Oxfordshire and is renowned for his pioneering a problem-solving project management approach.

Alongside his continued efforts to help to fulfil the goals and aspirations of his colleagues, the judges recognised Richard as a key driver of the success of the Oxfordshire property market. Leading the launch of Radical Regeneration in Oxford, he is pioneering the county’s focus on a strategic vision that goes further than property infrastructure and calling for local authorities, the private sector and universities to work together to drive development and growth but not in isolation to the rest of the town.

He said: “Critical considerations such as housing, infrastructure and future space for spin-outs to grow into after their formative years need to be considered as we look to the future. We should not make universities temples of capitalism, but we should offer more chances to our best and brightest to create new businesses and commercialise their ideas. A long-term strategy that encourages public-private collaboration is crucial.”

The 48,000 sq. ft Zeus development at Harwell Campus was recognised for its contribution to the Science and Technology sector across the region.

The design of Zeus was conceived as a result of an architectural competition, run by Bidwells, who project managed the build, with Allies and Morrison delivering a successful design consisting of a steel portal frame timber and weathering steel cladding.

Judges praised the development for its strong connectivity with the landscaping, and environment, designed specifically to fit around the historic mature trees already on the plot.

David Jobbins, project manager at Bidwells, said:

“Zeus is a real a one-of-a-kind project and it was an honour to be involved from such an early stage. The design set the standard for what is to come at Harwell Campus and we worked tirelessly to get every single detail right. It’s a great achievement for the whole team to win this award.”

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