Architectural Ironmongery company Em-B Solutions and Architects Bowman Riley have scooped the top prize that this year’s Guild of Architectural Ironmongery / RIBA Specification Awards, named Winner of Winners for their work at the Relais & Châteaux Grantley Hall Hotel in North Yorkshire.
The biennial Specification awards recognise design excellence in architectural ironmongery specification projects and are awarded to the whole specification team of architect and architectural ironmonger, highlighting the importance of the partnership between these two professional disciplines.
Grantley Hall’s ironmongery specification was praised by the award’s judges as “a joy” and “a pleasure to judge,” commenting not only on the quality of the hardware but the huge attention to detail, thoroughness and technical accuracy of the door hardware scheme. The teams from Em-B and Bowman Riley were presented with the Winner of Winner prize at a ceremony at the top of London’s iconic Cheese Grater building.
Em-B worked closely with all the architectural team at Bowman Riley on the refurbishment and new build elements of the Grantley Hall project. In the old buildings Em-B worked hard to retain existing hardware where possible, mindful of the need to upgrade to fire door standards where applicable. New ironmongery was carefully matched to the old to provide a consistent design approach throughout. This was then fully integrated into the buildings’ access control and security systems for a seamless customer experience through the whole complex.
Testimony to the quality of Em-B’s work at Grantley Hall is how delighted the client is with the hardware scheme which has been working beautifully since the newly refurbished hotel reopened in 2021. “We are delighted to hear that the hard work of Andy Fitzgerald and the rest of the Em-B team has been recognised with this award,” says Anne Harrison at Grantley Hall. “Quite simply Em-B was a superb partner throughout this project and without the passion and expertise of the ironmonger, this project would simply not have been possible. Once the architect had chosen the handle suite in antique brass, Em-B went through every single item of door and window hardware to get the details right. Every single closer, hinge, escutcheon was scrutinised for aesthetics and functionality and that passion and attention to detail was vital to the success of the scheme.”
Em-B is a thriving, well-established architectural ironmonger and supplier of door solutions based in Leeds established in 1966. The company regularly win awards for its architectural ironmongery schemes on some of the UK’s most prestigious projects, working for household name architects and clients. Em-B’s success is built on working as a true partner within the construction process from drawing board to installed product and beyond.
