Chamber Names No.3 Circle Square Building of the Year
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has announced No.3 Circle Square as the winner of Building of the Year 2025.
The aim of the Building of the Year Award is to recognise a building’s contribution to Greater Manchester in terms of construction and development. No.3 Circle Square is a new build, 15-storey, environmentally sustainable office building, complemented by a new public realm space located in the heart of Circle Square, Manchester.
Andrew Turner, the incoming Chair of the Chamber’s Property & Construction Group, said: “Why did this building win? As we say each year, this is not an architectural or design award. This award is about recognising the building or development that the judges believe makes the greatest sustainable contribution to Greater Manchester - socially, culturally, economically, visually, or environmentally.
“This winning building demonstrated to the judges how important it is for Manchester to compete globally and to attract and retain talent, particularly in the technology and digital sectors, reflecting the development’s appeal to high-growth, knowledge-driven businesses.
“No.3 Circle Square benefits from its position within a strong innovation ecosystem that includes access to world-class university talent, research partnerships and support infrastructure, building on the success of the earlier phases. It really does deliver quality jobs and inward investment from major companies including AutoTrader and Puma.”
This year the judges decided to present a Highly Commended Award to Stockroom to recognise it as the building that came second. Stockroom is a flagship community-led transformation in the heart of Stockport. Once a series of under-used retail units in the Merseyway Shopping Centre, it has been reimagined as a warm, accessible and vibrant 51,000 sq ft cultural and community hub
Andrew added: “This project stood out for several reasons. It’s an innovative use of redundant retail space that is now a multi-use space for community groups of all types. There were over 500,000 visitors to Stockroom in the first seven months, which shows you just how popular the facility is.
“Stockroom has also helped to revitalise that part of the Stockport town centre and lift the overall footfall back into the Merseyway Shopping Centre. It’s already becoming a model for town centre regeneration and is attracting significant interest from other local authorities across the UK.”
The other projects shortlisted for the Building of the Year Award were:
• Ancoats Mobility Hub
• Campfield
• Civic
• J R Clynes Building
• Power Hall
Diane Elebert-Morgan, Property & Construction Group Manager, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “The fact the judges chose to have a highly commended award this time reflects the quality of buildings that were shortlisted. The projects are based across Greater Manchester from Ancoats to Wigan and include everything from new build to the restoration of historic buildings. Each one makes a great contribution to the local community and will be a landmark for years to come.”
Apprentice of the Year
The awards were announced at the Property & Construction Annual Dinner, sponsored by D+H UK, at Manchester Hall on 5th March. The evening also saw the Steve Burne Apprentice of the Year Award 2025 presented to Alysia Rigg, an apprentice at Shift PM.
Andrew Turner said: “This was an excellent submission for an excellent apprentice. Alysia is clearly a valued member of the Shift team and is already contributing to projects, keen to learn and to go the extra mile.”
Andre NdLovu, Membership & Commercial Marketing Manager, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, added: “Alysia has shown all of the qualities you'd look for in an apprentice and more. The impact she has had on her team and her peers is nothing short of exceptional.”
The other finalists for Apprentice of the Year Award were Will Cooper of Arup and Emily Watson of Laing O’Rourke.
Previous winners of the Building of the Year Award include: Co-op Live (2024), The Christie Paterson Building (2023), Energy House 2.0 (2022), RHS Garden Bridgewater (2021), The Oglesby Centre at Halle St Peters (2020), Manchester Alliance Business School (2019), The Christie Proton Beam Therapy Centre (2018), Oldham Town Hall (2017) Maggie’s Manchester (2016), The Whitworth (2015).
