IT IS striking, innovative, environmentally friendly and provides students with modern facilities in which to learn. Now, this £19.2million building could be in line for a prestigious award.

Futures Community College, in Southchurch Boulevard, Southend, has been shortlisted in the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ awards in the community benefit category. The new upper college building at Futures, which opened in September last year, offers students between 14 to 24 courses ranging from hair and beauty to construction.

Nigel Franklin, 49, of the project’s surveyors HBW Partnership, said: “The building is about 818 sq ft and has a number of outstanding features.

“It provides green source heating which means there are thousands of metres of pipework under the playing fields, to collect heat from the ground and provide underfloor heating in the college.”

He said the multi-million pound build was striking with bold colours in the design.

Simon Carpenter, college principal, said 14 other schools in the borough use the college facilities for courses and winning an award would pay testament to the state-of-the-art building.

The east of England regional heat will be held at a gala dinner at Sopwell House, in St Albans on May 12. Winning buildings will make it through to the national awards in October.