Caithness Flagstone Helps Royal Bank Headquarters Win National Award

29th November 2006

A new headquarters that provides a world-class working environment and creates a business campus positioning it as an employer of choice, has won a prestigious national building award for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Gogarburn, Edinburgh.

Designed by Edinburgh-based architectural firm, Michael Laird Architects, the new building and 100-acre site has won the top award for a new modern building with non-load bearing stone in this year's Natural Stone Awards.

Organised by the Stone Federation Great Britain, the Natural Stone Awards are the stone industry's showcase event and celebrate the very best architecture using natural stone products. The awards were announced at a ceremony hosted by Jim Rosenthal and Tommy Walsh at London's Millennium Hotel on November 24.

The main office complex comprises seven business houses, arranged along a stone paved and landscaped internal 'street'. This is the main circulation spine and social heart of the building, with its coffee shops, supermarket, branch bank, bistro and shops.
Liestadter sandstone has been used extensively for the external and internal cladding. The stone is bonded to pre-cast panels allowing for a high quality finish and facilitating ease of construction. The sandstone is 50 mm thick whilst the pre-cast panels are made from 150 mm thick concrete.

The main street has been paved with Caithness flagstone in a natural riven finish whilst smaller areas used Burlington slate in a flamed finish. The boardroom suite of the Executive House is expressed as a 'stone clad elliptical drum rising from the water feature that enlivens the approach to the main entrance of the building'.

"The bank's vision for Gogarburn was to construct a building that combines work life balance. This office building has been transformed into a business village with high streets, squares and neighbourhoods," said Mr Brian Lightbody of Michael Laird Architects.

Chief Judge John Barton said: "This office complex, as a result of using natural stone in a very controlled manner, provides a very satisfactory building which integrates extremely well with the landscape. This is a very accomplished project."

This is the thirteenth time the Stone Federation Great Britain has organised the biennial Natural Stone Awards which reflect the versatility of natural stone in modern building and design.

For more information about Scottish Stone see
Building With Scottish Stone
http://www.nsiuk.org/bwss/BWSS.pdf
64 pages illustrated

See Also
Stone Federation Great Britain Web Site
http://www.stone-federationgb.org.uk