Five buildings from across the North East are in the running for architecture awards.
The multimillion-pound refurbishment of Newcastle Civic Centre will go up against a renovation project at Seaton Delaval Hall, a barn conversion in County Durham and new, modern homes in the countryside in the 2022 RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) North East Awards.
The shortlist includes: Floating House by Elliott Architects Ltd; Newcastle Civic Centre by FaulknerBrowns Architects; North Bank, also by Elliott Architects Ltd; Seaton Delaval Hall – Brewhouse by Mosedale Gillatt Architects and Shepherds Barn by LEAP.
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FaulknerBrowns architects, based in Killingworth, has been involved in work at Newcastle Civic Centre for several years, having initially received approval for the multimillion-pound refurbishment of George Kenyon’s 1968 Grade II star-listed building in 2017.
As part of the plans, council services have been redistributed to promote greater operational efficiency and consolidation, which has allowed space for HM Courts and Tribunal Service to occupy areas of the Civic Centre, optimising building use and generating commercial income for Newcastle City Council.
Floating Housing in Northumberland, designed by Elliott Architects Ltd, is a new house set in the open countryside, looking north towards the Corbridge conservation area. The company said it was a challenge in planning terms, but also a great opportunity to consider design in a beautiful rural setting.
The Hexham company also designed North Bank, another new build set in a conservation area which has been designed to incorporate and reinterpret elements of rural Northumberland’s historic agricultural barns.
Mosedale Gillatt Architects has been involved in the lengthy conservation project to ensure the survival of Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland, acquired by The National Trust in 2009 and aided by a Journal-backed fundraising scheme.
The entire property is Grade I listed and has over 20 individually listed buildings and structures, and the Brewhouse has been turned into a cafe, recently opened to the public. The building started out as a 17th century agricultural building and has previously been used by a commercial market garden business based in the former walled garden and also as a coach museum.
Meanwhile, the Shepherds Barn in County Durham by LEAP (Low Energy Architectural Practice) is a retrofit barn conversion undertaken to the EnerPHit (Passivhaus retrofit) standard and designed by Architect and Passivhaus designer Mark Siddall.
RIBA North East jury chair Amrit Naru said: “I am delighted to see practices throughout the North East continue to deliver state of the art, forward thinking and world class buildings.
"This visionary attitude has given us the privilege to consider a wide range of commendable projects. The judges were exceptionally impressed with the high calibre of submitted entries and applaud all of the shortlisted practices and their projects.”
All shortlisted projects will be assessed by a regional jury, and the winning projects will be announced later this spring.
Regional award winners are considered for several RIBA Special Awards including the RIBA Sustainability Award sponsored by Michelmersh and the RIBA Building of the Year sponsored by Taylor Maxwell.
They will also be considered for a highly coveted RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, the results of which will be announced in the summer.
The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year will then be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects, and the Stirling Prize winner will be announced in October.
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