Entries for the 2024 York Design awards are now open!

 The Awards are free to enter due to the support of our kind sponsors.  The awards celebrate a wide range of properties including single and multiple dwelling residential developments, community and commercial buildings, and open space/public realm/landscape.

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2024 Winners

Previous Winners Archive 2016

York Art Gallery

Lord Mayor's Award

Architect/Designer: Ushida Findlay and Simpson & Brown
Client/ Developer: York Museums Trust
Builder: Simpsons York
Presented by: The Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor of York, Cllr. Dave Taylor

The comprehensive development to the York Art Gallery started as a design competition won in 2011 by Ushida-Findlay. Kathryn Findlay joined forces with Simpson Brown to implement the project, but she sadly died before the project was completed. The Gallery is now larger by nearly 3000 sq. m. – provided by the opening up of hidden volumes in the roof, the insertion of a new mezzanine, and the construction of a new first floor gallery on the southern side. All this has been done in a way which combines the old and new in an apparently seamless whole – easy to understand as a first-time visitor, elegant in all its details, preserving the best of the Victorian craftsmanship, yet including a number of wildly contemporary gestures such as the blue-glazed tile wall and the wonderful elevated terrace at the back – features that link the museum to the adjacent Abbey Gardens.

Shadow House, Fishergate

Residential: Small

Architect/Designer: Doma Architects
Client/ Developer: Owner
Builder: Carter Grice
Presented by: Roger Lee, Director, Bedern Hall Co. Ltd

…An elegant contemporary extension to an existing house – in this case a Victorian semi-D. The available area is much smaller, so the addition is on two storeys, ingeniously laid out to provide a remarkable amount of additional living space: on the ground floor a new back door, utility room, WC and home office; and on the upper floor two extra bedrooms. A second bathroom is now provided within the original house and the reorganisation of the ground floor opens the living spaces out into the garden. The bulk of the new building is clad in slate-grey fibre cement boards; the ground floor extension into the garden in charred larch laid to a stylish horizontal design – the dark colours make the new building like a shadow of the brick and stucco blocks on either side. We were particularly impressed with the way this extension responds both to the street at the front and the garden to the rear.

 

40 Badger Wood Walk

Residential: Small

Architect/ Designer: Mass Architecture
Client/Developer: Owner
Builder: Transcore
Presented by: Gavin Birch, Technical Director, David Wilson Homes

Architect/designer Charlotte Harrison – Mass Architecture 54 Blossom Street. In this project, also a modest domestic addition, the original bungalow and its new extension are treated in the same way, using white stucco, natural larch, copper and simple windows in dark grey anodised aluminium frames. The new extension provides a new entrance hall, WC and living room and is set at the rear corner of the original building so that the principal entrance is now along a raised timber walkway through an elegant private garden – in the Japanese manner – giving this small building a remarkable sense of grace and ease – a feeling that is reinforced by the simple detailing.

Le Tour Way

Residential: Large

Architect/ Designer: Atkins Global
Client/Developer: City of York Council
Builder: Gentoo Tolent
Presented by: Geoff Davidson, Director, ARUP

This new housing development by the City of York Council occupies the site of an old waste disposal site and provides a total of 27 new homes – 9 of them apartments, and the rest houses – half of the total for council housing and half for open sale. The houses are well laid out internally to the Lifetime Housing Standard, providing future flexibility for their occupants. The choice of materials, the architectural composition and the landscape are simple but varied. We were particularly impressed that this very successful design has been pursued through the often difficult constraints of a local authority scheme and a design-and-build contract. By applying lessons learned from previous schemes, the Communities & Neighbourhoods Department has achieved a result well above the usual standards for residential developments of this nature.

Student Castle, Walmgate

Residential: Large

Architect/ Designer: CSP Architects
Client/Developer: Student Castle
Builder: VINCI Construction UK
Presented by: Janine Riley, Conservation Architect, City of York Council

The Student Castle Development is a remarkably large student housing complex tucked in between Walmgate and the river. The 3-4 storey buildings on the street provide the main entrance and very lively, common room facilities, immediately visible through large shop windows facing the street. Hidden behind is a continuous serpentine block of 5- and 6- storey buildings that enclose a series of remarkably attractive open spaces. The choice of materials and the composition of the facades are lively and engaging, despite the considerable scale of the buildings. This development provides very attractive student housing in the city and adding greatly to the life of the city centre out of working hours.

St Leonard’s Place Retail Unit & Public Conveniences

Commercial, Public & Community: Small

Architect/ Designer: Mass Architecture
Client/Developer: Healthmatic
Builder: APS Construction Services
Presented by: Janet 0`Neill, 0`Neill Associates

The first is a tiny coffee shop and new public lavatory fitted into a lost space tucked behind the city wall next to Bootham Bar – previously an unlovely public convenience. The layout is very ingenious, with a copper and glass roof that drains rainwater away from the ancient stonework into an internal light-well – at the same time providing through-views into the internal spaces from both inside and outside the city wall – enticing customers into the shop. The construction of this sophisticated building on one of the busiest traffic junctions in York is itself a remarkable achievement. The developer and their designer are to be congratulated for making something almost poetic out of a particularly unpromising site.

Your Bike Shed Cycle Café & Repair Workshop

Commercial, Public & Community: Small

Architect/ Designer: Owners, Martin Harman & Adele Procter
Client/Developer: As Above
Builder: As Above
Presented by: David Heath, Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings, one of our four judges

‘Your Bike Shed’ has become a very popular gathering place for the cycling fraternity – providing a unique service for their customers who can now relax over a coffee while their bikes are being fixed – and is also a meeting place and music venue. The project involved the refitting of a grand Victorian corner shop and its basement, already beautifully fitted out with its original glazed brick walls and decorative floor of encaustic tiles. The work of both design and construction were undertaken by the owners themselves for a budget of some £20k – using second-hand materials and off-the-peg fittings and furniture. The result is witty and engaging with none of the pretensions of Sunday Supplement design. It is very well worked out and has atmosphere in bucketful’s.

The Hiscox Building

Commercial: Large

Architect/ Designer: Make Architects
Client/Developer: Hiscox
Builder: BAM Construction North East
Presented by: Tim Hedley Jones, Major Projects Director, Virgin Trains East Coast

The Hiscox Building is a large, conspicuous and uncompromisingly modern building occupying a whole city block at Peasholme Green. Its most impressive feature is the interior – sadly invisible from the outside, except at night. Three floors of open-plan offices overlook a spectacular three-storey glazed atrium, topped with a large roof terrace. Groups of compartmented rooms and the services accommodation are arranged along the back of the plan, against the curious rear façade of interwoven brick strips. The interior uses undecorated concrete and uniform floor finishes. But the overall impression is hugely impressive, thanks to the dramatic, sweeping concrete stair that connects the floor plates around the atrium, the informal desk arrangements in the working spaces and the extensive displays of contemporary art – which include the so-called ‘Peace Rocket’ (the only collaborative project by both Russia and the USA) in this magnificently sculptural interior.

York Art Gallery

Public & Community: Large

Architect/ Designer: Ushida Findlay and Simpson & Brown
Client/Developer: York Museums Trust
Builder: Simpsons York
Presented by: Sally Walker, Master, York Guild of Building

The comprehensive development to the York Art Gallery started as a design competition won in 2011 by Ushida-Findlay. Kathryn Findlay joined forces Simpson Brown to implement the project, but she sadly died before the project was completed. The Gallery is now larger by nearly 3000 sq. m. – provided by the opening up of hidden volumes in the roof, the insertion of a new mezzanine, and the construction of a new first floor gallery on the S side. All this has been done in a way which combines the old and new in an apparently seamless whole – easy to understand as a first-time visitor, elegant in all its details, preserving the best of the Victorian craftsmanship, yet including a number of wildly contemporary gestures such as the blue-glazed tile wall and the wonderful elevated terrace at the back – features that link the museum to the adjacent Abbey Gardens.

Kings Square

Open Space

Architect/ Designer: City of York Council
Client/Developer: City of York Council
Builder: City of York Council
Presented by: Kurt Calder, Group Corporate Relations Manager, Shepherd Group

The wholesale reworking of the roadways, pavements and street furniture in Kings Square has the remarkable virtue of being more or less invisible to those who didn’t know the Square in the past. The integration of roadways, kerbs and pavements in a single unbroken surface has made it possible for pedestrian to enjoy the entire space without the risk of being jostled off the pavement. And though the space is still open to traffic, vehicles now move with appropriate care and caution. That all this has been achieved is a triumph of diplomatic negotiation over the complexities of safety regulations, vested interest and the heavy hand of tradition. York Council and those involved with the week-by-week implementation of this project detail deserve hearty congratulation for making a much loved part of old York infinitely more pleasant and welcoming.

Walmgate Bar

Conservation, and/or Restoration

Architect/ Designer: Structural & Civil Consultants, Northallerton
Client/Developer: City of York Council
Builder: City of York Council Ancient Monuments team
Presented by: Andrew Scott, Chairman, York Civic Trust

Walmgate Bar is the best-preserved medieval town gateway in the country – and one of the most unusual, with its curious three-storey, timber-framed gatehouse on the inside – supported on two very vulnerable stone columns. After a vehicle strike in 2012, it was decided to reinforce and restore the gatehouse. This involved new steel beams for the main supports and the extensive overhaul and replacement of the oak framing – which was then reinforced with plywood membranes – and the lime-plaster render restored. A robust oak balustrade has been reinstated on the roof, allowing visitors to enjoy the wonderful views over the city. At the same time the walkway of the Barbican on the outside of the gate has been restored and is now open the public for the first time in may years – as one of York’s most unusual cafés. This project has required the integration of a number of very different skills and disciplines: archaeology, structural engineering, conservation in stone, timber, lime plaster and lead – as well as the overall design and the complex contract organisation. Thanks to the skills of a remarkable team, the public will be able to enjoy the Walmgate Bar for centuries to come.

Hotel Indigo York, Walmgate

The Press People’s Award 2016

Architect/ Designer: CSP Architects/ Matthews Mee
Client/Developer: Splendid Hospitality
Builder: R N Wooler
Presented by: Mr. Stuart Martel, Assistant Editor, The Press, York

The Hotel Indigo occupies one of several entirely new buildings on Walmgate, which together are a remarkably successful contemporary contribution to the otherwise traditional streetscape. The composition and detailing respond well to the character, rhythm and texture of the street as a whole – without aping the historic features or use of materials. The interior has been fitted out by the hotel owners in a richly eclectic mix of contemporary styles with many references to York and its traditions, giving the interiors of the common spaces and of each bedroom a very individual charm.

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