Wembley Stadium has been awarded the ‘Best Commercial Project’ and named the overall ‘Supreme Winner’ at the LABC (Local Authority Building Control) ‘National Built in Quality Awards.’

The awards, which celebrate and reward high quality building projects that deliver partnership, innovation and sustainability, were jointly made to Brent Council’s Building Control team and Wembley Stadium.

The judges labelled the completed project “a truly exceptional building” and commented that the national stadium was a “once in a lifetime project, of enormous complexity”, that has “set new standards for future stadiums”.

Wembley Stadium was opened in May 2007 and over the last 18 months has hosted over 50 major events, welcomed over 3.5 million visitors through the doors and been re-established as a world-class sports and entertainment venue. The stadium’s 133m Arch is a special piece of structural engineering that integrates the skills of steelwork design, fabrication and erection. Not only is the Arch an iconic feature and a welcome addition to the London skyline but it is the longest roof-carrying arch in the world and holds up the entire north side of the stadium’s roof, as well as a significant component of the south roof.

The new 90,000 seat stadium is the ultimate stage for major events with state of the art facilities for all. The stadium is a fully inclusive environment and is now widely held up as a model of excellence. The design incorporates 310 wheelchair viewing positions distributed through the seating bowl, which can be increased to 400, if required. An auditory enhancement system is also in place which provides coverage in the seating bowl and public concourse areas and is capable of providing event commentary, information and emergency announcements.

Wembley Stadium’s Development Director, Scott Martin said: “It is a tremendous honour to receive these awards, particularly the Supreme Award which is the top award in the competition. Our thanks go to the judges for voting for us and in particular to the London Borough of Brent for entering Wembley Stadium in the competition. The awards are recognition of over ten years hard-work by many dedicated individuals who were involved in planning and developing Wembley Stadium into the world class venue that it is today. The London Borough of Brent has played a major part in this and has been of great support throughout the planning, building and opening of the stadium.”

Andy Hardy, Director of Building Control at Brent Council said: "It is great to see Wembley Stadium receiving the recognition that it truly deserves as a national icon. The Building Control team at Brent Council are extremely proud to have received this award and feel privileged to have taken part in such a magnificent project, where great team work between the building owners, contractors and the local authority Building Control Major Projects Team were key factors in the success of the project".

LABC is the member organisation representing all local authority building control departments in England and Wales and promotes the design and construction of buildings that are safe, accessible and environmentally efficient to comply with the Building Regulations.

A full list of award winners can be downloaded at: http://www.labc.uk.com