Bovis, Neue Bruennen, Hochtief win 2010 Prime Property Awards

Bovis Lend Lease, Neue Bruennen and Hochtief Projektentwicklung were each awarded prizes for outstanding European building at the 2010 Prime Property Awards ceremony at the EXPO REAL property trade fair in Munich. Organised by Union Investment, the award recognises real estate projects in Europe that combine commercial success with ecological and sociocultural sustainability.

The prize for the best sustainable real estate investment project in Europe was awarded to Bovis Lend Lease for the Palmas Altas Technological Center in Seville, the headquarters of environmental technology group Abengoa and one of the biggest private-initiative technology and business parks in southern Spain. The technology park is a prime example of sustainable architecture and technology, the jury said. ‘Deploying renewable energy sources and innovative technologies in Seville has led to an unusual yet exemplary building concept in terms of energy efficiency that sets benchmarks and has already inspired others,’ jury member Garrie Renucci, partner at Gardiner & Theobald, said at the awards ceremony.

Second prize went to Swiss company Neue Brünnen for the Westside Leisure and Shopping Centre in Berne.‘The holistic quality of the 141,500-m² centre can be seen in its unique combination of sustainable architecture, nature and urbanity, together with an exceptional mix of uses, including 55 shops, a leisure pool, multiplex cinema, hotel and accommodation for senior citizens, and an ambitious energy concept,’ said jury member Prof. Joan Busquets.

Third prize went to German firm Hochtief Projektentwicklung for the new Unilever House in Hamburg. Completed in September 2009 and offering around 22,800 m² of space, this landmark building is fully let to Unilever on a 15-year lease and was acquired by RREEF Investment in early 2010. With its transparent exterior façade, this new build is an attractive and eye-catching feature of Hamburg’s HafenCity. “Given its visual and ecological quality, and in particular its communicative architecture, Unilever House provides a template for future office buildings,’ said jury member Frank Billand, a member of the management board of Union Investment Real Estate.