Architect: Native Architects, York
Client: Mr Chris Walker and Mrs Sally Walker
Judges Comments: this project addressed virtually all the criteria of excellence on which the awards were judged. It is highly contextual – an appropriate addition to an old building. It is very well thought out and planned, with excellent workmanship. And it is a model of sustainability. All for around £60,000. A model of how rural buildings should be extended. And equally significant as a workplace, showing how new sources of employment can fit into the rural scene.
Architect: – DSP Architects, York
Developer: Helmsley Group
Judges Comments: a really significant scheme which is about rediscovering the historic city core. York’s famously picturesque streets conceal many neglected corners – former industrial sites, garages, etc. At Blake Street a group of listed buildings has been meticulously restored and new additions made in an appropriate but entirely contemporary manner. The impact on the city is entirely beneficial – a more populated city centre will be a more civilized one.
Architect: – Bramhall Blenkharn, Malton
Client: Mr Steve Couldwell and Mrs June Couldwell
Judges Comments: York’s rural fringes contain many former agricultural buildings which are now redundant – not only houses but barns and sheds which are part of the country scene. In many cases these make good material for residential conversion but too often this is badly handled, with new work as pastiche and fake “period” details. In this instance, the approach is essentially contemporary, with spaces for 21st century living created. The project is very well planned and benefits from good quality workmanship. The modern aesthetic was achieved without sacrificing sustainability – e.g. by the use of special glass to control solar gain.
Architect: Carillion Regional Building, Leeds
Client: City of York Council
Judges Comments: York City Council has done well in this year’s awards and rightly so. The Eco-Depot is the hub of the city’s progressive approach to waste management and recycling. It is not a costly building but is a pleasing place to work and has a public face too. Its environmental credentials are excellent. This is “the biggest straw building in Europe”.
Architects: KPP, Leeds
Client: Evans of Leeds
Judges Comments: the judges looked at a number of commercial warehouse/office projects but this one stood out for its innovative mix of uses and neat design, with good quality detailing. Buildings of this sort are scattered around the edge of every city, but few make any positive contribution to the public domain. This one is an exception.
Architect: City of York Council
Client: City of York Council
Judges Comments: we found this a very refreshing, spirit-raising building. Architecturally, it is a modest performance, quite unassuming though quite contemporary in manner – appropriate to a village setting. Internally, the daylit library space is extremely attractive, a place to linger. Most important, however, is the way in which the idea of a public library is reinvented as a real community resource, with space for meetings and other activities.
Architect: Farrell and Clark, Leeds
Client: University of York
Judges Comments: a very important institution which has located in York on the expanding university campus. A high quality modern building with flexible internal spaces where teachers come to be refreshed and to expand their own vision of their subjects. The central forum space is ideal for social events and for the interaction which is central to the success of the Centre.
Architect: City of York Council
Client: City of York Council
Judges Comments: an excellent pooling of educational and community needs, providing the school with a new hall and sports facility and the village with evening and weekend facilities. Circulation is well planned, with care taken to locate the hall to minimize its impact on the residential setting. Quality materials and crisp details relate the development to the existing school and neighbourhood.
Architect: Leach Rhodes Walker, Manchester
Client: University of York
Judges Comments: not all the new buildings on the campus are inspirational and some fail to respond to the setting created in the 1960s. However, the university library extension is a striking, landmark addition, which connects well to the existing 60s building and provides much needed space. The archives facility houses the precious material of the Borthwick Institute, formerly at St Anthony’s Hall in the city centre. Designed to provide secure storage for centuries to come, it also offers excellent amenities for researchers.
Architect: Bond Bryan, Sheffield
Client: York College
Judges Comments: a building which is a landmark in the development of education in York, offering outstanding facilities for further education and training. The quality of the building is (appropriately) that of the commercial sector – the college has the ethos of a modern HQ, with a really impressive atrium which is an interactive social hub, with shops, cafes, restaurant etc – even a travel agent. The architecture is conventional but effective for its purpose and the atrium really does impress.
