{"id":83153,"date":"2025-11-14T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bco.org.uk\/?p=83153"},"modified":"2025-11-14T11:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T11:42:15","slug":"bco-nextgen-awards-winners-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bco.org.uk\/bco-nextgen-awards-winners-revealed","title":{"rendered":"BCO NextGen Awards winners revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"\"<\/p>Technical innovation, powerful sustainability initiatives and people-centric leadership shone through as the BCO honoured the rising young stars of the property industry at its annual BCO NextGen Awards ceremony at London\u2019s Skylon last night.<\/span>

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the awards, which celebrate emerging talent, cross-disciplinary innovation and employers committed to creating inclusive, dynamic workplaces across the UK\u2019s office sector.<\/p>

From pioneering workplace design rooted in neuroscience to championing social value and diversity, this year\u2019s winners exemplify the future of the office sector: collaborative, responsible and innovative.<\/p>

A growing number of entries focused on carbon-conscious innovation, accessibility and community engagement, reflecting a shift toward values-driven leadership and long-term transformation.<\/p>

The BCO NextGen Awards are a key initiative of the BCO NextGen committee, which supports professionals aged 35 and under in the commercial property sector. With a focus on mentorship, leadership development and amplifying emerging voices, the committee runs a year-round programme that includes seminars, technical tours and its yearly Ideas Competition.<\/p>

This year\u2019s awards attracted more than 60 entries, highlighting the growing importance of recognising and encouraging younger professionals in the sector. NextGen members make up approximately 30% of BCO\u2019s total membership, with more than 1,200 members now actively engaged across the UK.<\/p>

Oliver Hall, national NextGen committee chair, said: \u201cThe NextGen Awards is the highlight of a year packed with events designed to educate, elevate and celebrate excellence across our sector. Guided by the BCO\u2019s evolving\u00a0\u2018design, develop and operate\u2019 vision, we\u2019re reshaping how we engage with our members and championing fresh talent. This year has marked a new level of regional collaboration, with standout partnerships like those between the Northern and Scotland committees.\u201d<\/p>

To mark its tenth anniversary, this year\u2019s event introduced a new award: Outstanding Contribution to BCO NextGen<\/em>, recognising individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the NextGen community.<\/p>

The winner, Mike Burton, director at AECOM, was celebrated for his enduring commitment to mentorship, industry advancement and the empowerment of early-career professionals. His influence extends beyond his role at AECOM, with contributions to key BCO publications such as the Guide to Specification<\/em> and his recognition as a RIBA Honorary Fellow.<\/p>

Last night also marked the appointment of Ella Griffin, senior engineer at Unova Consulting, as chair of the BCO NextGen committee for London and the South East. Griffin takes over from Beth Starling, interior designer at WILL+Partners, who played a leading role in scaling up the NextGen involvement in this year\u2019s BCO Conference in Milan.<\/p>

Starling, outgoing chair of BCO NextGen committee for London, said: \u201cI\u2019m especially proud of how the NextGen committee\u2019s initiatives – like the Ideas Competition and these awards – have empowered young professionals to share bold, human-centred visions for the future of the office. These awards are a powerful reminder that supporting young professionals is about evolution as well as succession. The next generation\u2019s ideas, values, creativity, and understanding of human experience will define the next chapter of our industry. By giving them a platform, the BCO is ensuring the workplace continues to grow in relevance, diversity, and impact.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIn its tenth anniversary year the NextGen Awards give us a moment to celebrate the many successes of our emerging talent,” said BCO president\u00a0 and director of projects at GPE Helen Hare. “At our annual conference in Milan, I was especially pleased to host our first NextGen dedicated seminar – a thought-provoking session exploring \u2018The BCO in 2030\u2019 that brought original perspectives on technology, sustainability, culture and workplace design. The full integration and representation of NextGen is essential to the future success of the BCO, and remains a key focus for us moving forward. I am equally always impressed by the number of collaborative events organised by the Nextgen, which highlight the NextGen committee\u2019s growing role in the BCO and its influence in shaping the future of workspace.\u201d<\/p>

BCO chief executive Samantha McClary, added: \u201cThese awards reflect the soul of the BCO. Our incredible regional and national BCO Awards showcase the best of the buildings that we create, showcasing best-in-class quality, innovation, ESG credentials and now customer experience, while the NextGen Awards celebrate the individuals that hold the future of this wonderful industry in their hands.<\/p>

\u201cThese are group of people who are our industry\u2019s future. And over the last 10 years we\u2019ve created quite the alumni of incredible individuals. So, while our industry may still have some bumpy times ahead, this night \u2013 and the decade of nights like this that have preceeded it \u2013 leave me with nothing but confidence that the future of the workplace, that our offices and the places around them, will thrive.\u201d<\/p>

The winners of the BCO NextGen Awards 2025:<\/h2>

NextGen Rising Star \u2013 London and the South East
<\/strong>Lauren Lemcke, senior project surveyor, AECOM<\/p>

Highly commended: <\/em>Nathan Shelley, AECOM<\/em><\/p>

NextGen Rising Star \u2013 Midlands and East Anglia
<\/strong>Francesca Ghavami-Milnes, associate interior designer, Howells<\/p>

NextGen Rising Star \u2013 Northern England, North Wales and Northern Ireland
<\/strong>Archontia Manolakelli, project architect and senior design researcher, AtkinsR\u00e9alis<\/p>

Highly commended: <\/em>Nicholas Birchall, Hawkins\\Brown<\/em><\/p>

NextGen Rising Star \u2013 Scotland
<\/strong>Kieran Smart, mechanical engineer, WSP<\/p>

NextGen Rising Star \u2013 South West England and South Wales
<\/strong>Kallum Desai, global ScopeX carbon practice lead, AECOM<\/p>

Employer of the Year
<\/strong>AECOM<\/p>

Graduate of the Year
<\/strong>Aleksandar Baji\u0107, Part 2 architectural assistant, Gensler<\/p>

Impact Award
<\/strong>Joelyn Elias, graduate project manager, AECOM<\/p>

Highly commended: <\/em>Francesca Ghavami-Milnes, associate<\/em>, Howells<\/em><\/p>

Inspirational Leader of the Year
<\/strong>Theodor Bratosin, senior sustainability and building physics engineer, Cundall<\/p>

Outstanding Contribution to BCO NextGen Award
<\/strong>Mike Burton, director, AECOM<\/p>

Highly commended: <\/em>Amy Leech, project director, tp bennett<\/p>

Huge thanks to our sponsors for this year’s BCO Awards, which comprised Artus Air and\u00a0 8build as silver sponsors and General Demolition, WILL+Partners BroadwayMalyan as Bronze sponsors.<\/em><\/h4>

Make Architects, Parkeray, QOB Interiors, Turner & Townsend alinea, Unova Consulting and Visibuild were Booth sponsors.<\/em><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Technical innovation, powerful sustainability initiatives and people-centric leadership shone through as property’s rising stars were honoured at the BCO NextGen Awards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":83171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,97],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-83153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media-hub","category-news","tag-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBCO NextGen Awards winners revealed - BCO - British Council for Offices<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bco.org.uk\/bco-nextgen-awards-winners-revealed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BCO NextGen Awards winners revealed - 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