The Royal Alexandra children's hospital in Brighton has won this year's Prime Minister's Better Public Building award, sponsored jointly by Cabe and the Office of Government Commerce. The ￡37m PFI hospital, commissioned by the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, was designed by Building Design Partnership and built by Kajima Partnerships. It beat Stirling prize-nominated rivals the Royal Festival Hall refurbishment, designed by Allies and Morrison, and Denton Corker Marshall's Manchester Civil Justice Centre. Laing O'Rourke wants to more than double its staff levels in the Middle East next year. Tony Douglas, Laing O'Rourke's chief operating officer, revealed in a speech at last week's Conservative party conference that the company aimed to employ at least another 4,000 technical and professional staff in the Middle East. The rapid expansion is a further sign that the UK's largest private construction company sees its future growth in the Gulf region. Speaking to Building after the event, Douglas said: "It will be between 4,000 and 4,500 new staff. There is opportunity for everyone. We will be recruiting worldwide, but hopefully many of them will come from the UK."
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