A skate park, a contemporary new housing development, student accommodation and several conservation projects took the top honours last night at the 2018 York Design Awards as the best of the city’s architecture once again took centre stage.
The 2018 award winners were announced at the annual presentation evening held this year at the Ron Cooke Hub at the University of York which was attended by more than 150 property professionals.
A new award for 2018 was the Sustainability Award, which went to The Granary in Fulford. This is a conservation-led, self-build conversion of 19th century farm buildings into the office of Native Architects, an environmentally-sensitive local architectural practice. The main building is a typical two-storey granary with external stone steps giving access to the upper floor. Yorkshire grown, construction-grade hemp was cast against the solid brick walls for thermal insulation. Extensive use has been made of recycled plywood sheets which could have otherwise gone to waste. The judges praised the building for its “exemplary use of low carbon design techniques throughout” and the “brave and inventive reuse of a redundant former granary building to provide new employment space.” The Granary also won the Commercial category.
The Chocolate Works Care Village on Bishopthorpe Road won The Press People’s Award, voted by local residents. The former head office building of the Grade II listed Terry’s Chocolate factory has been converted into a residential care village featuring shops, hair salon, coffee shop, cinema and even a pub!
Taking two awards – winning in the Conservation/Restoration category and picking up the Lord Mayor’s Award – was the Opening Doors project at The York Mansion House, the most comprehensive restoration of the Grade I listed Lord Mayor’s official residence since its completion in 1732. The project provides a new visitor experience revealing the past, present and future significance of the building, and the display of one of the largest Civic Collections of gold and silver in England. The works included the removal of intrusive past additions, the enhancement of original features including the functioning 18th century kitchen, major structural repairs, a climate control system and greatly improved fire safety.
Other winners included the restoration of the Great East Window at York Minster, the Red Tower on Foss Islands Road which has been transformed into a café and community hub, and the sympathetic refurbishment and transformation of a Regency villa and former hotel, into a family home.
Chair of the York Design Awards committee Janet Hopton said: “Congratulations to all our 2018 award winners. We were delighted with the quality of the entries once again this year, which presented our judging panel with a tough challenge deciding which projects should take the honours.
“I’d like to thank our sponsors, without whom the York Design Awards simply wouldn’t be able to run in the way that they do, the University of York for providing us with a superb venue to hold our presentation evening, and most importantly the people and organisations who entered.”
Celebrating its 12th anniversary this year, the York Design Awards launches every January with entries submitted between January and April. The awards are organised by a committee of volunteers and all funding is provided through sponsorship, including from main sponsor Hiscox.
Other additional high-profile sponsors include Arup, Bedern Hall Foundation, CG Building and Restoration, City of York Council, Crombie Wilkinson, Fulprint, George F White, Leeds Environmental Design Associates (LEDA), LNER, O’Neill Associates, Ravage Productions, Shepherd Group, The Grand Hotel, The Partners Group, The Press, United By Design, University of York, York Architectural Association, York Civic Trust, York Conservation Trust, York Explore, York Guild of Building, York Science Park and York Theatre Royal.
The full list of winners is:
RESIDENTIAL – INDIVIDUAL DWELLINGS
Regency Villa
Client/Developer Owners
Architect/Designer Native Architects
Builder JMark Construction Ltd
RESIDENTIAL – SMALL DEVELOPMENTS
Scala Yard, Fossgate
Client/Developer Fossgate Developments Ltd
Architect/Designer DLA Design Group
Builder GEM Construction Ltd
RESIDENTIAL – LARGE DEVELOPMENTS
Vita Student York, Lawrence Street
Client/Developer Vita Group
Architect/Designer Fuse Studios Ltd
Builder Wates
PUBLIC/COMMUNITY
Red Tower, Foss Islands Road
Client/Developer Red Tower York CIC
Architect/Designer Holland Brown Architects
Builder Croft Farm Construction
Rowntree Park Skate Park
Client/Developer City of York Council
Architect/Designer Wheelscape Ltd
Builder City of York Council and Wheelscape Ltd
COMMERCIAL
The Granary, Fulford
Client/Developer Native Architects
Architect/Designer Native Architects
Builder Native Architects
CONSERVATION/RESTORATION
Great East Window, York Minster
Client/Developer Chapter of York
Architect/Designer Arrol & Snell
Builder York Glaziers Trust
14 Lendal
Client/Developer York Conservation Trust
Architect/Designer York Conservation Trust
Builder York Conservation Trust
Opening Doors, York Mansion House
Client/Developer City of York Council
Architect/Designer De Matos Ryan
Builder William Birch & Sons
SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
The Granary, Fulford
Client/Developer Native Architects
Architect/Designer Native Architects
Builder Native Architects
LORD MAYOR’S AWARD
Opening Doors, York Mansion House – Lord Mayor’s Award
Client/Developer City of York Council
Architect/Designer De Matos Ryan
Builder William Birch & Sons
THE PRESS PEOPLE’S AWARD
The Chocolate Works Care Village, Bishopthorpe Road
Client/Developer Springfield Healthcare
Architect/Designer NORR Consultants Ltd
Builder Simpson (York) Ltd
