Claudelands has once again been recognised as a premier event facility following the inaugural New Zealand Commercial Project Awards held in the weekend.

Entered by Foster Construction, the Claudelands construction project received a gold award in the Industrial Project category and a silver award in the Tourism and Leisure Project category.

The New Zealand Commercial Project Awards have been designed to promote and encourage excellent building processes and practices within the commercial contracting sector.

The awards judging criteria was based on four components, project brief and design; contract management; construction, delivery of project and outcome; and overall assessment.

Mayor Julie Hardaker said these awards are a reflection of the innovation and work that went into the redevelopment of Claudelands by Foster Construction and Hamilton City Council which delivered an outstanding building.

“Claudelands is world class and Hamiltonians can be proud of this asset for our city and receiving these awards," she said.

“Claudelands is currently hosting more than 300 events each year and is responsible for attracting thousands of visitors to Hamilton.  We are continuously receiving positive feedback from national and international event organisers about the high quality of venue,” Ms Hardaker added.

More than 40 commercial projects entered the awards from around the country including Auckland’s Britomart, University Oval’s temporary lecture theatres in Christchurch, and Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr stadium.

The gold and silver awards add to Claudelands’ previous accolades at the 2011 New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) Waikato Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards where the venue received awards in the ‘Public Architecture’ and ‘Resene Colour’ categories.

Waikato-based, Foster Construction Limited was formed some thirty five years ago and has completed a number of commercial construction projects in the region such as the former Downtown Plaza, Waikato Academy of Performing Arts, Waikato Polytechnic Student Services Building and Library, to name a few.

More information on the awards can be found on the NZ Commercial Project Awards website.