Winners of the Bradford District Design Awards are being showcased at a district-wide exhibition, opening at Manningham Mills Community Centre today (26/1/09).
The biennial awards, held in association with the Bradford branch of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Bradford Council and Bradford Centre Regeneration, last year received record levels of entries for the nine sector categories, including Building of the Year, Public Realm, Health Building, Education Building, Community Building, Interior Design, Residential Conversion & New Build, Commercial Building and Public Building.
Celebrating excellence in design across the region, the awards – in their fifth anniversary year - were presented to the winners as part of the RIBA dinner and award ceremony at the city’s National Media Museum in July.
Showcased at the new exhibition are images and details of the winning projects from last year’s awards, including The Gatehaus in Little Germany, which was awarded the coveted Building of the Year; University of Bradford’s Atrium which took the Education Building title and Haworth Medical Practice which took the top spot in the Health Building category.
Alan Soper, Chairman of RIBA Yorkshire Bradford Branch, one of the partner organisations jointly championing the exhibition, said: “Bradford is well known for its stunning historic architecture, and promoting a high standard of contemporary design is key to developing cohesion in the city, as the regeneration programme continues to move forward.
“The level of entries for last year’s Design Awards was so high, that we felt there was a real opportunity to showcase to the people of Bradford, just what the district is delivering in terms of high quality architecture and pioneering new buildings.”
Coun Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Culture, said: “Bradford’s buildings, both old and new, have always had a reputation for being unique, eye-catching and thought-provoking. This exhibition reinforces this and the calibre of architects inspired by the district’s landscape. As a Council we are extremely impressed with the standard of work on display here.”
Maud Marshall, Chief Executive at Bradford Centre Regeneration, said: “As part of our commitment to the regeneration of Bradford, we are delivering the highest standard of design, combined with new iconic developments.
“The exhibition is designed to highlight the range of excellent buildings and high quality public realm which forms such an integral part of the city and district, and makes Bradford a city of which its residents can be justly proud.”
The collection of award-winning projects from across Bradford will be exhibited at Manningham Mills Community Centre until 9 February, before moving on to libraries and community centres across the district, including Shipley, Ikley, Keighley and Thornbury. Once the district tour has been completed at the end of April, the exhibition will be displayed at Bradford Council’s Jacob’s Well building.
For further details about the exhibition, please contact Alan Soper on 01274 532500.
Bradford District Design Awards Exhibition Schedule
Manningham Mills Community Centre: 26 January – 9 February
Shipley Library: 9 – 21 February
Ilkley Library: 23 February – 9 March
Keighley Library: 9 – 23 March
Thornbury Centre: 23 March – 6 April
Central Library, Bradford: 6 – 20 April
Jacobs Well Building, BMDC: 20 April onwards