Two BDP designed shopping centres, Silverburn on the outskirts of Glasgow and Victoria Square in Belfast have won Gold awards at Friday night's BCSC awards dinner held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Gold awards are given by the jury to any project that they consider demonstrates innovation and excellence, regardless of size or category, and are recognised as the top awards within the retail property industry.

BDP's head of retail Peter Coleman said "BDP creates urban environments that respond intelligently to place. Victoria Square is an excellent example of an economically important and ambitious scheme reinstating the Victorian city streets, while Silverburn extends and regenerates an existing neighbourhood. We are delighted they have been recognised as such."

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Silverburn opened its door on 25 October 2007 in Pollok on Glasgow's south side, one of the most deprived areas in the UK. Built on the site of the old Pollok centre, the 30 hectare site boasts 80,000 sq m of prime retail and leisure space with over 4,500 car parking spaces, and an upgraded transport interchange. A further phase of restaurants and cafes opened in early 2008.

The vision for Silverburn is to revive the civic and community heart of Pollok, creating a quality environment, with a range of uses and powerful sense of place that can live up to the role as a primary retail destination within the central belt of Scotland.

The citation reads: "This substantial out-of-town scheme is anchored by Debenhams and Tesco, with an array of significant national retailers featuring innovative, inviting shop designs and frontages. The sharp design has a regenerative effect on the surrounding area."

Victoria Square, designed by a full interdisciplinary BDP design team, opened to the public this year on 6 March. With a construction cost of approximately £165m, this landmark mixed-use regeneration scheme has changed the skyline of the city with its dramatic glass dome. The scheme is based on an open street model more prevalent in mainland European cities: it is an urban grain streetscape connecting with the city, and establishing new relationships between previously disjointed areas of the public realm.

(GK/JM)