3 August 2004
The Queen's Award for Enterprise 2004

Max Fordham LLP has won the UK’s most prestigious business award, the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, in the category of Sustainable Development. The Award confirms the practice’s reputation as leading environmental and building services engineers who are at the forefront of the promotion of sustainability in the construction industry.

It is the practice aim that services should be integral with the building design and that buildings should make as little environmental impact as possible. In winning the award the practice was commended for promoting green buildings and influencing their design to make use of natural light and ventilation, as well as pioneering the use of innovative sustainable technologies, including biomass heating, solar and wind power, rainwater recycling and using the ground as a thermal store.

Also cited was the company’s inclusive ethos and partnership structure, with all employees invited to become partners after four years, engendering a strong sense of commitment within the practice, which in turn contributes to creative and productive work. Recruits from a variety of disciplines are trained in all aspects of environmental and building services engineering to become unique, pragmatic and pro-active members of the building industry.

The Queen’s Award is the culmination of the numerous awards won by the practice for projects at the cutting edge of low-energy design, such as the London Symphony Orchestra’s St Luke’s centre (Levitt Bernstein Associates), the National Botanic Garden of Wales (Foster and Partners), De Montfort University’s Queen’s Building (Short Ford Associates) and the RMC International HQ (Edward Cullinan Architects).