The awarding panel - Central Region LABC Building Excellence Awards 2015 - considers vital elements in the creation of excellent buildings, looking particularly at technical innovation, sustainability and high performance.

Each year building control surveyors submit nominations for schemes completed during the year that have made such an impression on them.

Graham Blake, Director of Facilities and Estates at the University of Bedfordshire said: "It is a great honour to be shortlisted for this award.

"The opening of the Gateway is part of our commitment to ensure we provide the very best facilities to support our students throughout their studies.

"It marks the culmination of a huge investment at the campus, with the aim to give our students the best learning experience possible."

The award for Best Educational Building includes criteria focusing on quality, project management, sensitivity to the local environment and how the design supports the educational purpose of the building.

Martin Anderson, Principal Building Control Officer for Bedford Borough Council, said: "The Gateway is a great building which went far beyond the required building regulations aiming to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’.

"The building uses a post tension concrete system which is technically more difficult than other construction techniques but is more efficient in terms of material usage and sustainability."

The winner will be announced at a ceremony on Friday 24 April at the Doubletree in Milton Keynes. Here contractors, architects, designers and local authority building control experts from the counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire will be gathered to hear the result.

The winning projects from Central Region will automatically be shortlisted for the LABC Grand Finals, which will take place in London on Tuesday 10 November.

The project team nominated for this award comprises: University of Bedfordshire, mosescameronwilliams architects, Kier Construction and Bedford Borough Council.