Finalists and guests assembled in Birmingham for a night of food, laughter, and music as the 2026 winners were crowned
Construction’s finest innovators gathered this week for the 2026 Building Innovation Awards, an evening of big laughs and bigger applause – all with a serious purpose.
The awards shine a light on the companies, teams, and individuals reshaping how the industry builds, through smarter technology, bolder thinking, and better ways of working. With construction under pressure to deliver faster, greener, and more productively, they put those ideas centre stage and give the sector a well-earned chance to raise a glass.
The gala dinner and ceremony took place at the National Conference Centre/National Motorcycle Museum, a stone’s throw from the NEC, where UK Construction Week kicked off the same day. Held in partnership with the show, the awards capped off opening day in style.
Guests were welcomed with a drinks reception and a three-course dinner with wine, while comedian Rod Woodward kept the ceremony moving. A So You Think You’re Funny finalist at the Edinburgh Fringe, he has earned praise from Peter Kay and Barry Cryer, and has twice performed at the Royal Variety Performance, first for William and Kate, then for Harry and Meghan.
The night also had a serious heart. Rainy Day Trust, the charity for people working in construction, home improvement, and building materials, was the evening’s charity partner. For more than 180 years, it has supported workers through everything from money worries to mental and physical ill health.
The need is stark: suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50 in the UK, and in construction, the charity says, that risk triples. A raffle, with prizes of special edition Moët champagne, a Homesense luxury hamper, and a weekend away, together with generous donations from guests, raised £3,464 for the cause.
Once the awards were done, Birmingham jazz and soul band Mastersound took over, serving up everything from Ray Charles to Daft Punk and making good on its goal of filling the dance floor.
But the real stars of the show were the winners…
The Winners of the Building Innovation Awards 2026
Best Use of Advanced Materials
Winner: B&K Hybrid Solutions
Comment: The judges were unanimous in their praise for B&K Hybrid Solutions, describing this as a genuinely first-of-its-kind project. They said this was a great example of how advanced materials can be leveraged together to reduce embodied carbon, improve structural performance and enhance architectural flexibility – all within a completed, real-world project.
Best Use of Visualisation Technology
Winner: mXreality
Comment: The judges praised mXreality’s platform for bringing together live site imagery, AI, augmented reality and time-lapse in a shared project-assurance environment. By giving project teams, funders and stakeholders a unified view of construction progress, mXlens was recognised as improving remote verification, in a genuinely innovative way.
Most Innovative Affordable Housing Project
Winner is: Zed PODS Limited – Fortis House
Comment: Fortis House was celebrated by the judges as an exceptional example of genuine innovation addressing multiple housing challenges. True industry-leading thinking – delivering high-quality, low-carbon affordable homes while generating social, environmental and financial benefits.
Most Innovative SME
Winner: XD House Limited
Comment: The judges were impressed by XD House’s combination of consultancy expertise and digital tool development, actively deployed on some of the world’s most complex construction projects. Their world-first SME achievement was described as compelling evidence of genuine industry-leading innovation delivered by a remarkably small team.
Highly Commended: Cladmate Facade Systems Ltd
Most Innovative Urban Regeneration Project
Winner: Landsec – Mayfield
Comment: The judges described Mayfield as a standout regeneration project delivering lasting social, environmental and economic value at real city scale. This project highlighted outstanding achievements and combining heritage and conservation in a way the judges said is helping redefine how regeneration value is measured nationally.
Best Carbon Reduction Innovation or Practice
Winner: Vistry
Comment: The judges were impressed by Vistry’s initiative for moving circular economy beyond theory and into practical mainstream house-building. Demonstrating genuine leadership in tackling embodied carbon and circularity at scale.
Best Energy Efficiency Innovation
Winner: EvoEnergy
Comment: The judges praised EvoEnergy for a genuinely impressive engineering achievement under severe constraints. This was described as a serious technical achievement with a clear lesson for a grid-constrained industry, at scale.
Highly Commended: IES – for IES Live
Most Innovative Build Process Using MMC
Winner: Zed PODS Limited
Comment: The judges praised Zed PODS for a mature and highly credible MMC delivery model that demonstrates how digital design, manufacturing and construction can be integrated to unlock difficult sites while delivering outstanding environmental and social outcomes.
Best Health & Safety Innovation
Winner: Safety Shield Global
Comment: The judges described Safety Shield’s solution as exceptional and genuinely innovative – combining AI-powered human form recognition with real-time intervention to prevent incidents before they occur. With a King’s Award for Enterprise further underscoring the scale of the impact.
Best Approach to Company Culture & Wellbeing
Winner: Murphy
Comment: The judges were unanimous in their praise for Murphy, describing their entry as outstanding in its combination of a clear culture philosophy and exceptional evidence. One judge noted that treating wellbeing as a discipline rather than a benefits list was a true differentiator.
Best Asset Management Innovation
Winner: SmartViz Ltd
Comment: The judges highlighted SmartViz’s ability to demonstrate genuine lifecycle value, reduced operating costs and improved utilisation across large estates. Moving well beyond a single pilot, the submission was praised for delivering outcomes across several major clients.
Best Retrofit Innovation or Project
Winner: Studio PDP – Claridge House
Comment: Claridge House was described by the judges as an exceptional example of deep retrofit, showing how heritage assets can be transformed into high-performance, low-carbon homes without losing architectural character. The judges said this was a benchmark project for the entire sector.
Most Sustainable Building Project
Sponsored by Cladmate
Winner: Integrated Health Projects – The Countess of Chester’s Women & Children’s Hospital
Comment: The judges praised Chester Women & Children’s Hospital as a benchmark for how healthcare infrastructure can achieve a variety of KPIs at once. Being the first UK hospital approved under the NHS Net Zero Carbon Building Standard is a notable achievement, at an impressive scale.
Highly Commended: Studio PDP – Claridge House
Best Digital Transformation
Winner: TCW
Comment: The judges recognised TCW for impressive sector-wide impact that goes well beyond technology implementation. Their proactive assurance approach and clear focus on resident safety were highlighted as standout elements, demonstrating genuine organisational and behavioural change across the sector.
Most Innovative Partnership
Winner: Bellway, Barratt Redrow, Saint-Gobain & University of Salford
Comment: The judges described this as an outstanding example of innovation and exactly the kind of partnership our industry needs. Bringing together competitors, manufacturers and academia to openly share knowledge is a shining example of the ability to align competing businesses and policymakers behind common objectives.
Most Innovative Contech Startup
Winner: JT Lifestyle Homes
Comment: The judges praised JT Lifestyle Homes for successfully delivering a genuine UK first, the live deployment of robotic wall-laying technology on a real residential development. Moving beyond experimentation and into practical delivery at scale.
Best Use of Remote Monitoring Technology
Winner: Aireavu
Comment: The judges praised Aireavu for a strong example of remote monitoring evolving into true operational intelligence – for modular and relocatable buildings. The solution was recognised for delivering sustainability outcomes backed by exceptional evidence.
Best Use of Data on a Construction Project
Winner: Sir Robert McAlpine
Comment: The judges highlighted Sir Robert McAlpine’s two information hubs at 2 Finsbury Avenue as an impressive achievement in cross-discipline data integration. The system was praised for saving an estimated two to three team-days of reporting effort per week while improving early handover – a model of effective data use on a major project.
Best Use of Automation or AI
Winner: Giatec
Comment: The judges praised this platform for its exceptional scale and real-world impact. Creating cost savings and faster quality decisions, a compelling demonstration of AI delivering measurable, meaningful outcomes across the global concrete supply chain.
Best Technology Partner
Winner: Access UK Ltd
Comment: The judges described Access UK Ltd as an exceptional technology partner, combining construction-specific technology, deep industry knowledge and highly effective implementation. Agentic AI is a big part of their offering that demonstrates genuine commitment to improvement and a deep understanding of where the industry is heading.
Most Innovative Supplier
Winner: ACS Stainless Steel Fixings
Comment: The judges praised the ACS product as a genuine, patented innovation delivering A1 non-combustibility, exactly the right priority for a post-Grenfell industry. The system was recognised for turning complex façades into a faster, safer and more sustainable solution – with hard numbers to prove it.
Most Innovative Contractor
Winner: Lovell Renew (Lovell Partnerships Ltd)
Comment: The judges praised Lovell Renew for a people-first approach backed by measurable resident engagement outcomes. This had impressive customer satisfaction improvement stats too and a cultural-change atmosphere – that sets this entry apart.
Most Innovative New Product (Hardware)
Winner: Material Evolution – MevoXL
Comment: The judges described MevoXL as an excellent entry that solves a long-standing, well-understood industry problem: the early-strength penalty that has historically limited cement replacement in concrete. Alongside real case studies, the judges agreed that this product has strong and immediate potential for large-scale industry adoption.
Most Innovative New Product (Digital)
Winner: SmartViz Ltd – People-Centred Building Intelligence
Comment: The judges praised SmartViz’s People-Centred Building Intelligence platform for its strong combination of innovation, scale and measurable impact. The ‘peel and stick’ sensor approach, platform design and multiple major deployments showed evidence of a product that is ready for broad industry adoption.
Professional Services Partner of the Year
Winner: Origin7
Comment: The judges praised Origin7 for demonstrating how a focused digital construction consultancy can deliver large value through collaboration and practical innovation. The outcomes were described as among the strongest in the category, showing a clear ability to reduce time, cost and risk through digital expertise on complex projects.
Smart Building Project of the Year
Winner: Aireavu – Portakabin Smart Building Project
Comment: The judges described this as a genuinely innovative and highly scalable solution that demonstrates improvements in energy performance, carbon reduction and resident comfort. One judge said ‘this project is set to change the way modular buildings are perceived in the future’.
Digital Infrastructure Project of the Year
Winner: Pure Data Centres Group & AVK – Dublin Campus Microgrid
Comment: The judges praised this as an exceptional infrastructure project addressing a critical European digital capacity challenge. With impressive scale, this was recognised for delivering clear economic, environmental and digital transformation benefits – a landmark project for the sector.
Digital Construction Team of the Year
Sponsored by Autodesk
Winner: Collen
Comment: The judges described Collen’s 18-person digital team as exceptional – building and scaling their own tools across seven datacentre projects to achieve remarkable results. A standout example of what a committed, capable digital construction team can achieve.
Highly Commended: Sir Robert McAlpine.
Innovator of the Year 2026
Sponsored by UK Construction Week
Winner: Jason Whittall – One Creative Environments Ltd
Comment: The judges praised Jason Whittall for excellent sector leadership and a strong portfolio of scalable innovations delivered across his career. Respected for, and with a reputation for Innovation in the wider sector, Jason is a truly deserving ‘Innovator of the Year’.
Building Innovation of the Year 2026
Winner: Material Evolution – MevoXL
Comment: The Editor of Build In Digital described this evolution as having the potential to reduce carbon reduction easily – if it becomes a nationally available project that is specified on all projects in the future.
Read next: Start your engines, get ready for the show
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