Business / ‘Delighted’ architects celebrate double awards recognition
A LERWICK architects is celebrating after two of its projects earned award recognition in both London and Inverness.
The conversion of the North Roe kirk into a two-bedroom home by née gibson architects wowed judges at the Highlands and Islands Architects Association (HIAA) awards last week, winning the best small building award.
The practice’s renovation of Burnside cottage in Levenwick was also nominated for an award at the Inverness ceremony.
And both projects were also shortlisted for the prestigious AJ Retrofit awards in London in September, which reward “architectural expertise and ingenuity” in upgrading buildings across the country.
Architect and director Adrian Wishart said the team were “delighted” with their recent awards success.
“We were the only ones in Shetland and Orkney to be nominated for the HIAA awards this year,” he said.
“Both of those projects were built during Covid, and a lot of work was put in to them to get them to a high architectural standard.
“So it was nice to have that reward for our efforts.”
The team from née gibson architects did not travel to the Inverness ceremony, instead finding out through an Instagram post last Friday about the North Roe project’s success.
The kirk – which was sold by the Church of Scotland – was actually bought by another architect, who enlisted née gibson’s help with transforming it into a home.
“He was mainly working on large projects, like airports, out in Singapore,” Wishart said.
“He said he’d always wanted to work on a small, personal project, and he wanted to work in collaboration with us.”
The brief for the company was to keep the striking exterior of the building intact, and for its high ceilings to remain “for character”.
The rest of the interior was to be modernised – with née gibson architects setting to work on ensuring its new owners would get the best possible views.
“Being a church, it had small windows and there were really no views,” Wishart said.
“That lead to an idea that we could have one big picture window.”
The construction was carried out in two phases – the roof replaced by Kevin Sutherland Construction, before the interior was renovated by Mckay and Sinclair.
Burnside cottage, in Levenwick, gave the company the chance to modernise a traditional home – in a way which kept its rustic look.
Wishart explained they decided to add an extension to the rear of the building, ensuring the owners would get “panoramic sea views” and “more floor space” while still being in keeping with a traditional Shetland cottage.
The team at née gibson architects were stunned to find both projects in the running for the AJ Retrofit awards earlier this year.
The ceremony is a sister event to the AJ Architecture awards, which celebrate the best new buildings in the country for the year, while the Retrofit awards encourage architects to make use of existing materials to improve structures.
Wishart said they were even more delighted to be even considered for these awards, which reward projects that improve the carbon efficiency of existing builds.
To make it through to the finals, Wishart and his team had to give a 10 minute presentation before being grilled by a panel of seven judges.
And because the firm was nominated twice, née gibson architects had to go through the whole nerve-wracking experience all over again.
“We had to do a carbon life cycle for the buildings, which we’d never done before and was being done retrospectively,” he said.
“They came out surprisingly well for something that wasn’t even in our brief, so that was an added bonus for us.”
Wishart said they had to explain to the panel of judges “why we do things the way we do in Shetland”.
“They’re looking at sustainability, and asking why we’re bringing certain materials up to Shetland,” he said.
“We had to say that we do the best we can with the materials we have here, and trying to convey that across in a short space of time.”
He added the team often wonders how their work in Shetland compares to elsewhere, so the AJ Retrofit nominations were vindication for their work.
“The concern for us, or anyone working in a remote place like this, is how does that relate to what your peers are doing on the mainland,” Wishart said.
“You wonder, are you missing a trick, or are you maybe even doing things better?
“So last week’s award win, and the nominations in London, are a nice measure on what we’re doing.”
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