RIBA National Award wins for Bath Abbey and Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings

11 July 2024

Bath Abbey and Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings have each been honoured with a RIBA National Award, recognising our careful, sustainable conservation and repair with a light touch approach that enables these buildings to exist for generations to come
 
Each project has already collected a number of RIBA regional awards this year. Bath Abbey took home the RIBA South West and Wessex Award 2024 and RIBA South West and Wessex Conservation Award 2024 while Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings took home five RIBA West Midlands awards including Building of the Year, Client of the Year and the Conservation Award. Additionally, FCBStudios Senior Associate Tim Greensmith was named Project Architect of the Year following his work on the project.

Bath Abbey has been standing at the centre of Christian faith in the UNESCO City of Bath for more than 1300 years. The £19.3 million programme of restoration, building works and interpretation improved its accessibility, sustainability, hospitality and service to the city – and visitors from around the world – as well as providing flexibility for worship now and in the future.

The project involved extensive interior repairs and remodelling, as well as the creation of new learning and music spaces beneath Kingston Parade's pedestrian pavements.

The RIBA Judges praised the ambitious project: "Led by architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, a multidisciplinary team has spent 12 years painstakingly surveying, planning, and implementing a highly complex programme of work.

"Perhaps the project’s most radical aspect is the new underfloor heating system, supplied with geothermal heat from beneath the city, contributing to the Church of England’s target to achieve net-zero by 2030."

Built originally as a flaxmill in 1787, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings was revolutionary in its design as the first iron framed building in the world, paving the way for the modern skyscraper.

This £28million project of repair and adaptive re-use has delivered a low-carbon, mixed-use development which is a catalyst for economic regeneration of the local area and beyond.

The RIBA Judges commended the project, stating: "Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios have conserved the enduring elements of both uses to provide four floors of flexible working space, while cleverly weaving in a contemporary layer to accommodate a visitor centre and café."

These awards highlight the dedication and innovation of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios in preserving historical architecture while incorporating sustainable solutions for the future.