Pier Arts Centre Stromness, Orkney Building Photos, Scottish Gallery Picture, Design, Architect
Stromness Harbour Orkney Arts Centre
Orkney Arts Project Development design by Reiach and Hall Architects, Scotland
29 May 2008
Pier Arts Centre – Award
Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney has won a 2009 European Heritage Award. It’s one of only 28 winners from all over Europe. The awards are to be presented on the 5th of June.
Design: Reiach and Hall Architects
This award joins the Pier’s journey of national and international recognition. European Union Award for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award 2009, Invited into and judged for the European Union Prize For Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award 2009, RIBA National Award 2008 and judged for the Stirling Prize, RIBA Award 2008, Civic Trust Award 2008, IAA ‘Best New Building in the Highlands and Islands’ Award 2008, RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture ‘Best Building in Scotland’ 2008, Scottish Design Awards 2008 ‘Architecture Grand Prix’, ‘Best Public Building’ and ‘Northern Exposure’ awards and Neil Gillespie named Architect of the Year for the second time in four years.
The European Heritage Awards Ceremony which will be taking place on 5 June in Taormina, Italy.
There are 28 Award winners in 2009 stemming from 15 European countries, of which 7 will be chosen to receive a Grand Prize with the reward of €10.000.
photo : Gavin Fraser
Client: Pier Arts Centre
Contract value: £2.8 Million
Start on site: Apri 2005
Completion: November 2006
The Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland, UK
Reiach and Hall Architects
A £2.8M, restoration, refurbishment and new-build of an internationally acclaimed arts venue within a conservation area of outstanding merit. It has been designed to be strikingly modern, yet complement the surrounding architecture – the stone houses and boat sheds that give Stromness its unique appeal.
We were interested in a building which is at once part of the towns topography, yet signals its occupier as an important and cultural organisation. To achieve this we chose to use a form that is inherently traditional, yet stands out through exploration of contemporary materials and details.
Judged for European Union for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award 2009, Invited into and judged for the European Union Prize For Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award 2009, RIBA National Award 2008 and judged for the Stirling Prize, RIBA Award 2008, Civic Trust Award 2008, IAA ‘Best New Building in the Highlands and Islands’ Award 2008, RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture ‘Best Building in Scotland’ 2008 – currently the largest prize in British architecture, Scottish Design Awards 2008 ‘Architecture Grand Prix’, ‘Best Public Building’ and ‘Northern Exposure’ awards and Neil Gillespie named Architect of the Year for the second time in three years, Short-listed for the esteemed ArtFund Prize (formerly the Gulbenkein).
photo : Ioana Marinescu
“Reiach and Hall’s Pier Arts Centre in Orkney houses the internationally important Margaret Gardiner Collection. It sits on the water’s edge in the harbour of Stromness. The project involved the refurbishment of the existing accommodation in the entrance off Victoria Street and the former Hudson’s Bay Company Headquarters Pier Building, and the forming of a new gallery and library/archive.
The new wing sits parallel to the Pier building but while the original building is stone and solid, the new is glazed and ribbed. The same duo-pitched roof form is used with its gable to the harbour, but with a fresh lightness. The jury was very impressed with the seemingly effortless way in which the new gallery has been settled in beside its neighbour as an integral part of the townscape.
The darkness of the simple volume given by the patinated zinc cladding perfectly sets off the neighbouring building during the day, as the contemporary building almost disappears into its own shadow; whilst at night the obverse occurs – the modernity of the new wing strikingly asserts itself as the large scale of the illuminated windows undermines their volume.”
Judges Citation RIAS Andrew Doolan Award winner 2007
“We don’t think that there has been a better building built in the whole of Scotland since the Pier Art Centre was built”.
Judges Citation IAA ‘Best Building in the Highlands and Islands’ Award winner
Pier Arts Centre opened 30 Jun 2007
Pier Arts Centre Photo © Adrian Welch 030207
The Pier Arts Centre – Building Information
Client: The Trustees of the Pier Arts Centre
Project Manager: John Stockan of Pentarq, Kirkwall
Architect: Reiach and Hall Architects, Edinburgh
Structural Engineer: Shahram Hemmati of SKM anthony hunt, Edinburgh
Quantity Surveyor: Pentarq Quantity Surveyor
Planning Supervisor: Reiach and Hall Planning Supervisor
Main contractor: Senan Kelleher of Casey Construction, Kirkwall
M&E Consultants: Malcolm Tait of KJ Tait and Associates, Edinburgh
Access consultant: JMU Access Partnership
Lighting consultant: Gavin Fraser of FOTO-Ma, Edinburgh
Pier Arts Centre Stromness : main page with photos
Pier Arts Centre Orkney : Andy Doolan Awards winner
Mies van der Rohe Award Nominee 2009
Pier Arts Centre building architects : Reiach and Hall, Edinburgh
Location: Stromness, Orkney, northern Scotland
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photo © Timothy Soar
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Comments / photos for the Stromness Architecture – Pier Arts Centre Orkney page welcome
Website: www.pierartscentre.com