RIBA London: More than 70 projects shortlisted for awards
"Individually, each initiative not only improves the physical environment but also enhances the quality of life for all of us who live, work and study here," he added.The RIBA awards have been running since 1966 and the winners will be considered for several special Awards before being considered for the National Award, which will be announced in summer.
The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize – the UK's best new building – will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects and announced in September. The Stirling Prize winner, the UK's most prestigious architecture prize, will be announced in October.
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The Herald Scotland
10 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
A-listed 'Modernist masterpiece' up for auction
Nestled beside the A707 near Selkirk, the Bernat Klein Studio is a striking piece of late Modernist architecture by Peter Womersley, who also gave us the Gala Fairydean Rovers Spectators Stand, which is widely recognised as Scotland's finest example of Modernist Brutalist architecture. It was built in 1972 as a creative hub for Bernat Klein, a key figure in Modernist design and one of the 20th century's most celebrated textile designers. Conceived as a workspace for design, weaving, exhibiting samples and business meetings, it celebrated the intersection of industrial craftsmanship and artistic vision. READ MORE: Village church for sale as congregation search for new home Shuna Island owned by same family for 80 years goes on sale Home on 'most picturesque street in Glasgow' hits the market for £495k The building was designed to connect harmoniously with its setting on the sloping wooded site; the severe horizontality of the concrete elements succeed in contrasting with the verticals of the trees around it. The Studio won a RIBA award in 1973 for its design and exemplary use and combination of the materials of concrete, brick, steel and glass. It was also awarded the Edinbugh Architectural Association Centenary Medal. It sits near High Sunderland, Klein's own home, which was also built by Peter Womersley - in 1958 - and is recognised as one of Scotland's finest modernist homes. Sold in the early 1990s, the Bernat Klein Studio served as office space until the early 2000s when it was acquired with the idea of converting it into a residential dwelling. After an initial positive flurry of development activity, the Studio has spent most of the 21st century awaiting this repurposing. The category A-Listed building has also been subjected to vandalism and water ingress in recent years and is currently on the Buildings At Risk register. Bernat Klein Studio (Image: Phil Wilkinson) In 2018, a group of people with passion for the work of Peter Womersley launched the campaign to raise awareness of the Studio and its architectural, cultural and historical importance. Historic Environment Scotland (HES) describe it as a "late Modernist horizontally styled two-storey rectangular-plan concrete and glazed studio space set on brick plinth with cantilevered overhanging upper floor, entrance bridge to side and central brick service core through to roof". Outlining the reasons why it is considered to be of special architectural, HES adds: "The Studio is a very fine sculptural late Modernist building designed by Peter Womersley, the internationally renowned Borders-based architect. The contrasting structural elements of bold horizontal cantilevered striated concrete join with finely framed vertical glazing to illustrate a monumental sensibility executed with sophistication and with great attention to detail. The studio design displays elements of Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, the seminal project which Womersley himself admitted inspired him to take up a career in architecture in his teens." Serbian-born Klein settled in the Scottish Borders after the Second World War, setting up a textile business in Galashiels which would go on to supply his innovative fabrics to some of Europe's top fashion houses. Bernat Klein was one of the 20th century's most celebrated textile designers (Image: Phil Wilkinson) Regarded as one of the 20th century's leading forces in Modernist design, Klein's genius eye for design transformed British textiles over four decades: clients from Chanel and Christian Dior to Marks and Spencer craved his colourful tweeds, and the fabrics and yarns he designed were worn by superstar models such as Jean Shrimpton and Princess Margaret. At the peak of his popularity, his Borders mill employed 600 people, and his fingerprints were on everything from skeins of yarn sold in high street wool shops – to be knitted at home according to patterns designed by his designer wife, Margaret – to sewing patterns, upholstery fabrics and colourful rugs, to ready-to-wear fashion. Fashion bible Vogue praised him for having 'revolutionised traditional English fabrics to win them new recognition abroad'. Following his death at the age of 91 in 2014, The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) said his influence went "well beyond Scotland". RIAS secretary Neil Baxter also pointed out that "for a generation of Scottish women, owning a Bernat Klein creation was an aspiration". In late 2022 and early 2023, The National Museum of Scotland held a major exhibition devoted to the life and career of Klein to mark the centenary of his birth. The Bernat Klein Studio is listed for auction with a guide price of £18,000. For more information on the auction, visit the Savills website
New Statesman
04-07-2025
- New Statesman
We need to ensure that we don't sacrifice quality design in the rush to 1.5 million homes
Photo by Shutterstock The government has committed to an ambitious target of delivering 1.5 million homes across the country during the course of this parliament. With 1.3 million households in England currently on social housing waiting lists, and research showing that building 90,000 social rented homes would add £51.2bn to the economy, there are clear moral and economic cases to make this happen. However, we need to guarantee that we don't sacrifice quality design in the rush to meet this aim. This means ensuring that buildings are designed proactively and strategically to meet the needs of residents and communities, while adhering to safety, sustainability and accessibility principles. At the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), we know that this is sorely needed – data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has shown that 54 per cent of local authorities surveyed in 2023 reported skills gaps in urban design and architecture, impacting the quality of delivery at all scales. Architects have a clear role to play in rectifying this, making sure that the homes we build are fit not just for the way we live now, but also for the future. This means designing homes with different typologies and prioritising a mix of tenures, with the aim of meeting current and projected need across all tenure types. Our 2024 report, Foundations for the Future, looks at one way to do just that – through an innovative model which proposes a one-off initial investment from central government to local authorities to deliver high-quality, well-designed homes for social rent and market sale. Making sure that social housing is also designed to exemplary standards is vital to the success of the government's housebuilding programme, and we know what difference it can make to people's lives. The winner of RIBA's 2019 Stirling Prize, Goldsmith Street, demonstrates this – not only do residents live in attractive, well-built homes, but also enjoy reduced energy bills due to the design solutions employed. On a wider scale, best practice design in terms of new homes also means considering design on the scale of place – bringing homes, public transport options, schools and workplaces, retail, green space and community space within close enough proximity to avoid overreliance on personal car use and maximise quality of life. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe This could be medium to high density neighbourhoods, mixed use development to maximise opportunities for interaction and access to shops and community facilities, and utilising sites near transport hubs. Architects are also well-placed to unlock challenging sites such as infill sites to deliver homes, using design solutions to increase volume and tackle viability issues. In doing so, new homes can benefit from existing infrastructure. Putting design quality at the front and centre of the way we look at housing delivery will require a real change in the way we think, particularly given the bold target that the government has set. But the economic and social gains we can make from ensuring that the homes we build improve our quality of life mean that it's one worth making. Related
Glasgow Times
21-06-2025
- Glasgow Times
‘Deprived' area of Glasgow to get new stretch of road
Council planners are looking at making a left-in-left-out junction in Milton at Liddesdale Terrace and Ashgill Road to alleviate the feeling of isolation in the area. The aim is to regenerate Liddesdale Square as part of Glasgow City Council liveable neighbourhood plans. The area has been described as a 'desert' with no supermarket and secondary school. Council official Derek Dunsire said: 'There is limited public transport that comes through Milton and there is quite a disparate number of small parades of shops that really are critical for the community. ' He added: 'As part of the heart of Milton – Liddesdale Square and Terrace – there is an opportunity to unlock Milton and create a better improved sustainable transport route from the east by actually doing a very simple left in left out junction onto Ashgill Road.' READ MORE: Council rejects plans for huge 1000-home development with pub and park The group manager for liveable neighbourhoods added: 'This would help with the proposed residential developments that are looking at Liddesdale Square. 'It would help with the configuration of Liddesdale Square and potentially enhance the destination of the square itself and the local retail offering.' He said dialogue is continuing over the makeover designs. The planned scheme is one of four liveable neighbourhood projects for Lambhill to Milton, which are at a concept design stage – RIBA stage 2. The project would see improvements to Liddesdale Square, a new sponge park, parking spaces and cycle routes and could cost more than £3million. A possible site for a new supermarket has been put forward for the southern edge of Liddesdale Square. READ MORE: Major new housing development in Glasgow district put on the market Other Lambhill to Milton projects include improving routes to Miltonbank Primary School, Milton Community Nursery and St Monica's Primary School. A shopping parade at Skirsa Street is to be transformed with 'two new mixed-use blocks and the Parkhouse disused railway corridor is lined up to become a cycle and path. Projects in different parts of Glasgow, which are also at the same stage of concept design are: Ruchazie to Easterhouse, Knightswood to Anniesland and Cardonald to Mosspark. A council paper said the projects 'each have high level costings prepared with optimism bias providing a valuable overview for prioritising and securing further funding.' Councillors were presented with a report on the liveable neighbourhood projects at the environment and liveable neighbourhoods city policy committee last week. A report presented to local politicians said: 'The continued development of the liveable neighbourhood programme represents an important contribution to council priorities. This work provides a framework, which enables transport and neighbourhood interventions which prioritise connectivity, people and place; ensuring active travel and public transport become first choice for everyday journeys.' Local councillor Robert Mooney, Labour, has been calling for a supermarket in Milton describing it as 'one of the most deprived areas' of Glasgow, where children have to get two buses to high school.
