The Box is on the shortlist for trio of prestigious awards

The Box is on the shortlist for trio of prestigious awards

4 June 2021

The Box has been shortlisted for three awards and needs the public’s help to win one of them.

The city’s major new museum, art gallery and archive is in the running for the ‘People’s Choice’ category of this year’s Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South West Civil Engineering Awards.

The finalists cover a diverse range of civil engineering schemes that are having a positive impact on people’s lives, including coastal and flood defences, a new helicopter base and highways improvements.

The award judges selected The Box after hearing how it’s created the largest multi-disciplinary arts and heritage space in the South West, with 13 new galleries and exhibition spaces, a striking elevated archive and a new public square. They were impressed by The Box’s ambition to transform three buildings of historic and cultural importance to create a world-class venue for Plymouth and the wider region.

Chair of judges, Mike Gallop, Interim Regional Managing Director, Wales and Western, Network Rail, said:

The shortlist demonstrates the resilience and commitment of civil engineers across the South West, who have continued to deliver outstanding projects in extremely challenging circumstances. The finalists represent a wide and exiting range of schemes, highlighting the many different ways in which civil engineering benefits the region, its people, economy and environment.

Now, The Box needs the public to help it win and people can cast their votes online by 5pm on 30 July.

Councillor Mark Deacon, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Culture, Leisure and Sport said:

Everyone in Plymouth should be proud of The Box and I really hope as many people as possible vote for it before the end of July. Completing a project of this scale in the middle of a global pandemic is no mean feat, and the visitor feedback it’s received since it opened last year shows just what a difference it’s already making.

The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced on 30 September.

Before that, The Box will also be hoping to celebrate success at this year’s Museums + Heritage Awards where it’s been shortlisted in the ‘UK Exhibition of the Year’ category for its permanent galleries and for the ‘Shop of the Year’.

The Museums + Heritage Awards celebrate all things great in museums and heritage across the globe and the results will be announced on 1 July.