A striking building in Hull city centre is set to bring more plaudits after a shortlisting for a firm which helped in its construction. EYG Group has been named as a finalist for a second national award in the commercial glazing sector in recognition of its installation of 66,000kg of glass at the city’s Monocle office development.
Monocle – the old Europa House – was snapped up by Allenby in 2018, who then put in plans for it to be brought back into use as a modern workspace and hospitality hub in the heart of the centre, now making it a stunning base for a raft of businesses.
The six-storey building, which recently marked its first anniversary, includes a business lounge with co-working spaces, podcast studio, private gym, event space and gallery, a city garden and the ground-floor Daze coffee house, which is open to the public. And the old, mirrored facade has been replaced with a clear-fronted space which is currently home to 17 businesses spanning a range of sectors.
Having already been hailed as the UK’s best installation on a commercial single building at the 2026 Glass & Glazing Products Installer Awards, the project has now been shortlisted at the G26 Awards, in the Retrofit Excellence Award. Hull based EYG is shortlisted in partnership with aluminium window and doors specialists AluK, who provided the curtain walling system to help create the impressive, curved façade, which sees huge glazing panels sit within bronze trims.
Should they be named as winners, it would be the third awards recognition for the project this year, as developers Allenby Commercial last month won the Fit-out of the Year Award at the Insider Media Yorkshire Property Awards. The installation on the curved façade of the ‘Monocle’ office building was described as a ‘brilliant transformation’ by the judging panel of the 2026 Glass & Glazing Products Installer Awards.
It saw single glazing replaced with 400 high-performance double-glazed units, each of which had been laminated to provide solar protection, while reducing the need for artificial light inside. Each unit had to be lifted by crane to the required floor.
A specialist glazing robot then helped with the fitting from the outside, as the curtain walling sections were too small to fit the units conventionally from the inside.
Nick Ward, managing director of EYG said: “This project is consistently being recognised at awards events and it’s a fantastic story for the city of Hull, as two long-established firms from the city led its transformation. The Monocle has been transformed from a derelict building into one of Hull’s most desirable business locations, something which would never have happened at all without the vision and investment of Allenby Commercial.
“We were of course thrilled to be entrusted by them to carry out their vision and transform the building, with what was a very unique, challenging and specialised glazing installation, alongside Aluk. We’re particularly pleased to have been shortlisted in the retrofit award, as this project has really demonstrated the value that older buildings can offer when they are redeveloped to a high standard.
“We are often asked about it, and receive compliments for how great it looks. It would be fantastic for ourselves, AluK and Allenby Commercial to collect another award, and great for Hull too, as given the many multimillion-pound commercial developments and glazing projects across the UK, this one which keeps being hailed for its success. It’s something we can all be very proud of.”
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