A GOVERNMENT building has won the top prize at one of Europe’s most prestigious environmental awards.
The 2012 Green Apple Built Environment and Architectural Heritage Awards are the leading international awards honouring sustainable construction, design and innovation of products and architectural preservation.
The Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture’s headquarters, Thie Slieau Whallian, was awarded the gold award under the local authority section and then went onto win the overall winner award.
These awards are run under the auspices of the Green Organisation, a not-for-profit environmental group that is now in its 16th year. The awards recognise and reward best practice in both the private and public sectors.
Ashley Pettit, principal of APA Architects, the architect firm which led the project said: ‘This award demonstrates what the island can do. The managers at DEFA encouraged us to put together a good design team and meet the challenges that will face us in the future.
‘The island is a great place to live and this building is a great place to work. We should continue to strive for this return from every pound we spend and expect to win such awards.’