THE British Council for Offices (BCO) has invited Tony Hordon, head of DTZ’s Newcastle office, to join the judging panel of this year’s prestigious BCO Awards.

Tony, pictured right, will be part of a judging panel of five, who represent a high-profile cross-section of individuals from the office industry, including judge chairman Professor Neil Taylor, managing partner at Faulkner Brown.

The panel will judge all the entries for the North of England chapter, which covers the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland.

The BCO Awards is an annual event which celebrates the very best in office space. Award categories include corporate workplace, an award for either a building commission by owner occupiers or where the building has been customised by a developer for the occupier; commercial workplace, where a new building is initiated on speculative basis for commercial letting including buildings that are substantially pre-let or sold to an occupier; fit out of workplace, an award for space or spaces within the building that will be judged on interior fit out; refurbished/recycled workplace, a corporate or commercial building where significant works have been carried out to adapt the existing building to modern office use; and finally the innovation award, which recognises significant innovation in one or more fields, for example, sustainability, information and communications technology, lighting or procurement.

T o n y said: “For the first time, each of the regional chapters will be hosting an awards presentation in their own right to celebrate the very best in local output.

“Even in these challenging times, the effectiveness of the workplace and its role in the economy should not be underestimated and should be celebrated.”

The awards dinner will be held on April 22, at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.