The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour has won the award for Major Building Project of the Year (over £50m) at the British Construction Industry Awards. The 29th British Construction Industry Award winners were announced at a gala dinner on 12 October at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. 

The BCI Awards seek to recognise and reward excellence in project delivery. The winning buildings were chosen by a panel of judges, who visited each of the shortlisted developments. In awarding the Centre, the judges commented that the development was “Poetic and pragmatic, a very worthy winner”.

SWC Associate Director Professor Troy Margrie said: “We are delighted with this award. The design of this building really does strengthen how we do research here. Its spacious, open plan design facilitates interaction not only within individual research groups but across multiple floors linking with colleagues in the Gatsby Unit. The interactive spaces are aesthetically beautiful and comfortable and draw people in which is good for day to day discussions.” 

Architect Ian Ritchie said: "It was a great team effort, everyone should feel proud, and we appreciated the collaborative working environment with Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Wellcome, UCL Estates and neuroscientists, Arup, Kier, EC Harris (now part of Arcadis) and the many trade contractors, and the project management team led by Stuart Johnson Consulting."

The partners involved were:

Commissioning Authority: University College London funded by Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Wellcome
Strategic Project Manager: Stuart A Johnson Consulting 
Architect: Ian Ritchie Architects Ltd
Engineer: Arup 
Principal Contractor: Kier