Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings – Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2024 UK Winners in Conservation and Adaptive Reuse
On a bitterly cold day in March Sara Robertson, ENUK Chair, attended a workshop at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings arranged by the RIBA West Midlands region. She joined a group of local architects for a talk about the regeneration project followed by a tour of the site. The visit concluded with the unveiling of the Europa Nostra Award. Sara gave a short speech setting out the history of the Europa Nostra Awards and noting that the UK has had considerable success in terms of winning awards, especially in the Conservation and Adaptive Reuse category. She commented that when the awards nomination was discussed by the awards jury there was unanimous support as the project was felt to be an exemplar.
The jury particularly noted the commitment to embedding training in the contract documentation. They were also impressed with the effective collaboration between the client, design team, and contractors in terms of the pragmatic way that they had approached dealing with the various risks arising on this unique site. The innovative method of strengthening the masonry around the existing iron to enable it to act as an alternative load path in the event of failure was also agreed to be a wonderful example of creative problem-solving that puts the significance of the fabric at the heart of the decision-making.
Sara concluded by reading the jury’s citation and praising the dedication, skill, passion and professionalism of all involved in the project: “The restoration of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings’ iconic building serves as a beacon for the conservation and adaptive reuse for industrial heritage sites in Europe. Through innovative project management, logistical complexities were navigated, and risks were mitigated effectively, ensuring its success. Beyond its architectural significance, the project had a profound community impact, fostering engagement and skill development while creating employment opportunities. By carefully preserving original features and repurposing the building’s original materials where possible, its historical integrity was honoured. It sets a pioneering example for future projects of its kind.”
What winning the Europa Nostra award means
Tim Greensmith was the Project Architect for Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, architects for the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings:
“The Europa Nostra Conservation and Adaptive Reuse Award 2024 was a special moment for our tight knit project team and local community who had been quietly working together for the last 14 years to realise this ambitious project on the outskirts of a small market town on the Welsh borders. In writing the ‘Conservation Plan’ we duly recognised the international heritage significance of our Grade I listed building dubbed ‘ the grandparent of the modern skyscraper’. To be singled out for an international award was a moment of recognition that we’d achieved our goals of preserving the international significance, affording public access, providing skills training, creating an exemplar of sustainable retrofit, kick starting regeneration in addition to equipping the building for its next one hundred years. All was achieved through partnering, so it was a joy to get together with the team and local volunteers in February to unveil the beautiful Europa Nostra bronze plaque. Congratulations to all the other award winners and to all those who entered projects, you are all doing great things for your communities. Finally thank you to Europa Nostra for shining a light on excellence in conservation and adaptive re-use, may it inspire a hundred more projects like ours”.
Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, the Gideon Tapestries at Hardwick Hall and Westminster Hall were the UK winners of the European Heritage Europa Nostra Awards for 2024 in the Conservation and Adaptive Reuse category. Marcus Binney CBE, OBE Hon FRIBA FSA was a winner in the prestigious Heritage Champions category.
Keep an eye out for the opening of this year’s Europa Nostra Awards call for nominations, and please contact us (europanostrauk@gmail.com) if you would like to discuss an application.
