Kings Gate crowned in GAI awards
30th May 2017

A residential project in London has been crowned the global ‘winner of winners’ in the biennial Architectural Ironmongery Specification Awards, organised by the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) in association with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Kings Gate in Victoria Street, London SW1 is a development of 100 luxury apartments and penthouses by Land Securities. The specification of architectural ironmongery included door furniture in solid cast nickel silver, which is thought to be the first use of nickel silver in a major project since the 1960s.

The architect was Lynch Architects, and the architectural ironmonger was izé.

The project beat 19 other shortlisted projects to scoop the top prize in these awards which reward excellence in the specification of architectural ironmongery in residential and commercial buildings, public sector health and education buildings, hospitality buildings such as hotels, and international projects outside the UK and Ireland.

The judges said of Kings Gate: "This is a stunning development. We felt that the design, manufacture and supply of the bespoke handles really demonstrated the value that comes from such a strong relationship between architect and architectural ironmonger.

"Other ironmongery specified to great effect included concealed hinges and flush pull handles which required little emphasis to fade neatly in to the background. izé has sensitively selected the appropriate fittings throughout this scheme in all situations and should be justly proud of the end result."

Kings Gate was also the Residential category winner. The other category award winners were:

Commercial: Design Museum, London – Allgood PLC and John Pawson
Public Health & Education: Acre Mill, Huddersfield – Em-B Solutions and Jefferson Sheard Architects
Hospitality: The Arts Club Hotel, London – Harbrine Ltd and Sagrada.
International: Shantou University Medical College, China – Key Technologies International and Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd.

Maria Powell, president of the GAI, said: “The Specification Awards show architectural ironmongery at its beautiful best, enhancing not only the security, accessibility and fire safety of the building, but also adding to its functionality and longevity.”

The awards were sponsored by Geze UK, Forza Doors, Assa Abloy UK, Harbrine, Frank Allart, Carlisle Brass, dormakaba and Em-B Solutions.

Pictured: Maria Powell, president of the GAI with Ivana Kubicova, izé, Claudia Lynch, Lynch Architects, Nick Doyle, izé, and Kaz Spiewakowski, Geze UK.

http://www.gai.org.uk/