THREE buildings in Wales have been announced as this year's winners of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales (RSAW) Awards.
A jury of experts chose projects at both ends of the country as having all the necessary qualities to deserve the prestigious title.
The winners this year were a Maggie's cancer centre in Cardiff, Ty Pawb in Wrexham, and a house in North Wales.
“In their own ways, the three award-winning projects are excellent," said regional jury chair John Pardey. "All three architects went the extra mile to make great design on a budget that with skill, sensibility and inventiveness made the ordinary quite extraordinary.
"The three buildings clearly demonstrated how much can be achieved within limited means.”
Maggie's
The Cardiff site, completed in the summer of 2019, serves as drop-in centre supporting people who have been affected by cancer. It is the 19th such centre set up by a Scottish registered charity founded by Margaret Keswick Jencks and her husband, architectural historian Charles Jencks.
The couple believed in the power of buildings to uplift people, and the charity's centres have been designed by a host of famous architects that, RSAW said, "have made these buildings a vital part of the contemporary British architectural scene".
"On first sight it is at once striking and surprisingly diminutive – but with its orange carapace formed of rusty corrugated sheeting, it stands out from the bleak surroundings," the award jury said in their decision.
The jury added: "The architects talk about the form reflecting the silhouette of the Welsh hills and the repetitive gables of Valley towns, and the colour referencing the region’s red sandstone or the autumnal colour of bracken on the nearby hills, or the industrial buildings of the Valleys – the vibrant colour zings off the evergreen tree canopy that sits behind the building, offering a perfect backdrop in a sea of drabness."
The panel concluded: "Infused with ideas of Welsh vernacular, art, and a deep concern for materiality, it creates truly restorative and poetic spaces as an antidote to the shadow of cancer.
"This is a distinguished addition to the Maggie’s legacy. Through the architect’s skills, it benefits from the much-reduced budget and tight site."
Ty Pawb
The transformation of this building in Wrexham town centre from "unloved and under-used 1990s `post-modern’ market hall and multi-storey car park" into a beautiful arts venue wowed the RSAW jury, who praised the architects' vision.
"The strength of this project undoubtedly lies in what it seeks to achieve through re-use and re-purposing of town centre building stock rather than the pursuit of an architectural statement," the jury said.
"Whilst there is a quality in the spaces created, the architecture serves as a backdrop and facilitator rather than pushing itself to the forefront. Materials are robust, austere almost – steel, concrete, ply, hanging plastic screens, exposed ductwork and services – and functional."
Earlier this month, The National toured Ty Pawb and all it had to offer.
READ MORE: Wrexham's Ty Pawb proves art really is for everyone
Announcing their decision, the RSAW panel concluded: "Ty Pawb (`Everyone’s House’) takes a new look on the provision of facilities for the arts, seeking to make it accessible to all and inject a relevance to the everyday lives of those who wouldn’t otherwise be attracted to a traditional gallery."
They added: "In doing so it provides a loose-fit solution that allows flexible and adaptable use, showing how the least likely of redundant public buildings can be imaginatively re-purposed to serve once more as vibrant community assets."
House in North Wales
The final winner was a private residence that once belonged to Maurice Wilks, the engineer who designed the Land Rover. The architects behind the projects were tasked with creating a new bedroom, bathroom and adding wheelchair access to the 19th-century stone cottage.
"It’s a project that wrings the very most of a simple brief and modest budget, showing how traditional rural buildings can be updated in an appropriate and light touch way whilst exhibiting a refreshing unpretentiousness and lack of ego from its architect," the RSAW jury said.
"In less skilful hands it could have turned out quite differently and been far less successful."
The jury added: "Both client and architect – for it is surely the product of a meeting of minds and clarity of thought – are to be applauded for showing that existing buildings can be adapted to suit changing circumstances, without destroying their essence."
The house was also named RSAW Small Project of the Year.
The three RSAW Welsh Architecture Award winners will now be considered for a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, which will be announced on September 9.
This article originally appeared on our sister site The National.
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