UK: BRE has revealed the winners of its BREEAM Awards 2025 with vocoZeal hotel, Exeter Science Park taking the New Construction Commercial Award.
The annual event celebrates projects, organisations and people leading the way in sustainable building design, development and management.
We recently published a piece about sustainable building certifications in the hospitality industry which talks about BREEAM, LEED, Passivhaus and the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standards.
vocoZeal hotel, Exeter Science Park was announced as the winner for BREEAM New Construction Commercial Award, while the unique sustainable office building, Nova, Oxford was highly commended.
The vocoZeal hotel has the target of being the first in Western Europe to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating in recognition of its sustainable approach to design, construction and overall fit out.
In January this year the project had achieved the BREEAM Outstanding rating at the design stage operating with industry-leading benchmark-setting Energy Use Intensity levels, a critical measure that ensures the buildings’ sustainable future.
BREEAM has been a world-leading sustainability assessment method for planning projects, infrastructure and buildings for more than 30 years and today there are nearly three million BREEAM-registered buildings across 104 countries.
Jane Goddard, deputy CEO and managing director of Building Performance Services at BRE, said: “We’re proud to celebrate some of the most impactful sustainability successes in the built environment at this year’s BREEAM Awards.
“Adopting science-led approaches like BREEAM drives real-world value for businesses, investors and for society as a whole. It’s exciting to see how our award winners and the wider BREEAM community are embedding sustainability at the heart of their work, pushing boundaries with creativity and commitment.
“With our global network of over 14,000 assessors championing high standards, we remain focused on accelerating progress towards a net zero future across the entire built environment.”
The launch of BRE’s forthcoming Version 7 update to BREEAM will further move the commercial real estate industry towards a more sustainable future with more comprehensive carbon benchmarking metrics, coverage of all lifecycle stages, and streamlined data collection backed by a rigorous, science-led methodology.
Other standout projects recognised at the BREEAM 2025 Awards included:
- Lombard Street 3rd Floor West in London. This won Best Refurbishment & Fit-Out Project for its thoughtful retrofit, reusing existing materials to optimise energy and deliver exceptional sustainability outcomes.
- The Warsaw Trade Tower in Poland, which was awarded the BREEAM Lifecycle Award, recognised for its holistic approach to sustainability across the building’s entire lifespan.
- Jonas in the Netherlands which won two awards, including a People’s Choice. This project is a zero-energy residential building incorporating nearly 300 homes, and its architecture and material selection encompass concepts of shelter, traditions of shipbuilding and reflect the harbourside location.
Zeal Hotels also recently appointed James Ferdinando as sustainable development lead, as the group expands and takes part in pilot for UK sustainable building standards.
Zeal appoints James Ferdinando as sustainable development lead
Image: BRE