A South Lakeland firm has played its part in the creation of a prestigious cancer care centre declared British building of the year.

The Maggie Centre, in Dundee, designed for free by renowned American architect Frank Gehry, came top in the Royal Fine Art Commission's annual awards and has gone on to win a host of other architectural accolades.

The project was the first in the UK for Gehry, one of the world's most influential modern-day architects and the brains behind such landmark developments as California's Hollywood Bowl and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

The award for the Maggie Centre came as music to the ears of Paul Birch, director of Lindale-based Birch Plastering Ltd, which won the contract to carry out rendering work on the building.

Staff spent around seven weeks working on the building, situated in the grounds on Ninewells Hospital, looking across the Tay estuary.

Mr Birch said his firm, which employs 30 staff, including two apprentices, was delighted to get the contract for such a high-profile project, which proved a demanding job.

"The building was particularly difficult to work on as it had so many angles and the tower is not only round but almost bottle-shaped, which had to be formed firstly in insulation and then the rendering of the top coat of the tower had to be done in one hit so no drying lines were visible," he explained.

"Luckily, the weather was good to us and we completed the works on time and credit must go to our lads who carried out the works they did a great job, one that we are all very proud of.

"It was also a great opportunity for us to be associated with such a great architect and we would welcome the opportunity again."

Founded in 1989, Birch Plastering has carried out work all over the country, including Alton Towers' new hotel and water park; Venerable Bede School in Sunderland; and Brewery wharf apartments in Leeds.

The firm has also worked on a number of hotels and Travel Inns, using an external insulation render system similar to that used at the Maggie centre.

Birch Plastering is currently working on a new hotel and residential block in Harrogate, and new student accommodation at Lancaster University.

Mr Birch said that working on projects so far afield did take its toll, and the firm had decided to concentrate more on contracts closer to home. It already carries out traditional rendering and plastering for a number of local construction firms, including Russell Armer, Cox and Allen, and Persimmon Homes.

The firm is also looking to diversify by launching a range of stone, marble and polished plasters for interiors and a sandstone restoration plaster.

"The finishes in the past have been limited to the rich and famous or corporate boardrooms because they were so expensive, but we are now able to offer all the finishes at around the same cost as tiling," said Mr Birch.

Samples of the polished plasters can be seen as Andersons Fireplaces showroom in Kendal, and Mr Birch plans to stage an exhibition showing off the finishes to the trade in late autumn.