ALL aspects of the built environment were recognised at the Constructing Excellence in the North- East (CENE) Awards, which took place over the weekend.

The awards dinner brought together contractors and consultants from across the region to toast best practice in projects as diverse as the preservation of a ruined castle to the building of an innovative school.

There were a record 120 entries in 12 categories including, for the first time, a heritage category.

The Project of the Year award went to Parsons Brinkerhoff for Monkseaton High School, in North Tyneside, which includes a ceiling-free sports hall. This aims to help facilitate trials of a spaced learning technique during exam revision. This will see 20-minute bursts of revision, interspersed with ten-minute physical breaks, for improved concentration and retention of information.

By looking at every aspect of design and build, Brinkerhoff was able to reduce the initial cost by £15m, to just over £20m.

CENE’s chief executive Catriona Lingwood said: “The recession may have had an impact on the quantity of construction work taking place in the region, but our awards show that the quality continues to improve.”