RIBA’s Reinvention Award Shortlist Revealed

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• RIBA’s Reinvention Award Shortlist Revealed

30 September 2024

RIBA has announced its shortlist for its 2024 Reinvention Award, celebrating the innovative reuse of existing buildings.

The award spotlights buildings that have used creative retrofit techniques rather than resorting to demolition and new construction.

 

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According to The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), 2024 is set to be “the year of the retrofit”.  Buildings contribute 40 per cent of the UK's carbon emissions and as 80 per cent of the buildings that will be standing in 2050 already exist, the UK will be unlikely to meet its net-zero ambitions without significant retrofitting of its buildings. 

The 2024 Reinvention Award shortlist showcases four projects that creatively demonstrate the idea that retrofitted buildings can still maintain architectural character.

 

Croft 3

 

Croft 3, transforms a traditional croft into a restaurant space, emphasising sustainable design and environmental stewardship.

The client wanted their restaurant to retain the simplicity and character of a croft building whilst making use of the views across to Ulva and the Atlantic Ocean.

The RIBA jury praised:

 

• The use of the original croft's footprint, which was converted into a dining hall, with a new extension for the kitchen, entrance, and service areas.
• The height and pitch of the extension, which matches that of the original roof.
• The low square windows that frame landscape views at seating level in the dining hall.

 

Park Hill Phase 2

 

Already shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, Park Hill Phase 2 is part of an ongoing regeneration of the Grade II* listed, brutalist, concrete-framed Park Hill estate which overlooks Sheffield city centre. The second phase of the regeneration has created 195 flats and 2,000 square metres of commercial space.

The project team was briefed that they should preserve the original brutalist character of the 1957 office and retail building, but also improve insulation and energy efficiency. Thermal imaging was used to identify problem areas. The layout of the existing flats was also reconfigured to provide open-plan living spaces, orientated to take advantage of the best views.

 

Picture: Image Credit: Tim Crocker

 

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings

 

This project sees the world’s first iron-frame building become a new leisure destination with a visitor centre.

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings opened as a flaxmill in 1797, and has been affectionately described the “grandparent of skyscrapers”. In the late 1800s it was converted into a maltings.

To transform it into a tourist attraction, a 13-step plan was established to safely remove rotten timber and reinstate the brick elevations. Civil Engineer AKT II strengthened the fragile cast-iron frame with cross ties, structural screeds, and reinforced masonry.

 

The Parcels Building

 

The Parcels Building, which won a RIBA London Award 2024, is a significant retrofit project in central London. 

Originally constructed in 1957, this office building has been modernised to improve sustainability and functionality while preserving its architectural heritage. 

 

Picture: a photograph of the exterior of The Parcels Building. Image Credit: Nick Kane

 

The existing structural frame, foundations, and circulation cores were assessed before a new facade and floors were added, meaning no strengthening works were needed on the existing columns and foundations.

Picture: a photograph showing a view from the Croft 3 restaurant Image Credit: David Barbour

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 30 September 2024

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