The refurbishment and redevelopment of the Old Post Office on St Nicholas Street in the centre of Newcastle began in February 2015 following a lengthy period of consultation with the building’s users. Working on behalf of RIBA Enterprises, the design returned the building to its unified state prior to it being split up in 1999, creating work space for some 210 staff as teams currently located across different parts of the building are brought together across two main floors. The contractors initially dealt with the former architect studios in a Phase One before staff decanted into this refurbished space whilst construction work completed in the remainder of the building. The entire project has also been designed and managed using Building Information Modelling (BIM). The whole team have thus been able to collaborate far more easily, swapping information and highlighting potential problems in a digital format. The contractor also made use of BIM during their site phase to coordinate work packages. Project Architect, Adam Vaughan, commented, “It’s a fascinating project, not only because this is such an iconic building right on our doorstep, but also because it’s been entirely designed and managed using BIM. We’re developing an innovative workspace which departs from more conventional office layouts to focus on new ways of working and collaborating, and RIBA Enterprise are at the forefront of this. In addition, we’ve also worked closely with RIBA Enterprise to field trial new additions to the BIM software environment such as NBS (National Building Specification) Create and the NBS BIM Toolkit.” RIBA Enterprises’ Chief Executive, Richard Waterhouse: “It was a great process and I’m absolutely delighted with the result. It was a difficult decision as we had six excellent practices on the shortlist, but JDDK fulfilled all of our requirements. The firm combines the expertise to deal with the conservation issues around the listed building, with the skill to integrate our technological brief. Above all we were hugely impressed with the team’s approach to engagement with colleagues at all levels of the business. RIBA Enterprises’ vision is that the project will be a teaching and learning exercise for the industry as a whole and an exemplar in the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) . Our aim is not just to get a great building that will inspire customers, colleagues and the local community, but to develop a case study of the process involved that will be of use to the industry.” Awards: 2017 Lord Mayor’s Design Awards, Refurbishment, Private Sector; 2017 British Council for Offices Awards, Regional North of England Award for Refurbished/Recycled Workspace.