Here are the winners of the RIBA Yorkshire awards for architecture 2024 plus judges citations

The RIBA Yorkshire Award 2024 winning projects are:

*Clifford’s Tower by Hugh Broughton Architects with Martin Ashley Architects. This remnant of York’s Royal Castle has been transformed into an engaging visitor experience.

*Crimple Hall by ArkleBoyce Architects. This new and sustainable retail destination with food hall, restaurant, shopping and a garden centre is on the fringe of Harrogate looks great and works wonderfully.

*Park Hill Phase 2 by Mikhail Riches. The retrofit of the apartments in the iconic Brutalist 1960s estate in Sheffield, is part of the ongoing regeneration of the Grade II* listed building.

*Skipton Town Hall by LDN Architects. This redevelopment has brought a much-loved building back to the centre of Skipton’s cultural life.

*Sort Trae by HEM Architects, Susi Clark & Marc Medland Architects. This ultra-modern, low energy home and studio in a Barnsley village is a superb lesson in considered design.

The five projects were selected by the expert jury, who visited all shortlisted projects. RIBA President, Muyiwa Oki, said: “This year’s RIBA Award winning schemes showcase the true value of quality architecture, and the positive impact it has on people’s lives. While carefully considering the needs of the environment, these truly remarkable places and spaces deliver for communities, for residents, for visitors, and people of all ages.

“They are pinnacles of design excellence, and show what can be achieved when architects and clients collaborate successfully.”

RIBA Yorkshire jury chair Lucy Plumridge said: “The award-winning projects in the Yorkshire region all reflect how innovative designs can create true social value. By reimagining existing structures, highly sustainable designs or creating attractions to boost the local economy they have been designed to actively benefit the people that use them and their local communities.

“From the radical restoration of Clifford’s Tower which unlocks rooms that have been inaccessible for over 300 years, to a sustainable farmers market building which sensitively connects to surrounding habitats, and a building that enriches a town hall’s cultural offering, there is a fantastic breadth of new architecture across the Yorkshire region.”

There were also three regional special awards announced at the awards event. Clifford’s Tower won the RIBA Yorkshire Conservation Award 2024 and a RIBA Yorkshire Client of the Year 2024 for English Heritage. Park Hill Phase 2 resulted in Alim Saleh winning RIBA Yorkshire Project Architect of the Year 2024, sponsored by EH Smith. Crimple Hall, Harrogate won the RIBA Yorkshire Sustainability Award 2024, sponsored by Autodesk.

All the RIBA Yorkshire Award 2024 winners will now be considered for a highly coveted RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence. The winners of national awards will be announced on July 11, 2024

The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year will also be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects later in the year.

Here are the judges citations for the award winning Yorkshire buildings:

Sort Trae: Designed to Passivhaus standards, the buildings not only respect their setting but have a minimal impact on it. The ultra-low energy approach uses the thermal mass of the concrete retaining walls and south facing triple-glazed walls to manage internal temperatures and create a comfortable, highly efficient environment.

Accessed at the upper level, the two-storey house straddles the level changes across the steeply sloping site. The other element, the single-storey studio space, is nestled into the landscape. Both of these buildings have full height triple-glazed windows facing out over the countryside to exploit the amazing setting while also preserving neighbours’ views across the idyllic surroundings.

The main house is designed around a central dry-stone wall with the staircase on one side and housing storage on the other, keeping rooms simple and uncluttered. At the upper, entrance level, either side of the stair sit the two bedrooms with panoramic views. This allows level access to the bedrooms should that be needed in the future.

On the lower floor, the wall separates an open plan living and dining room space which both open out onto an external south facing terrace and pergola structure that can be planted to provide shading in the summer.The jury felt that the use of natural, local materials and elegant detailing has created calm, beautifully lit space for the owner to live, work, and enjoy the stunning setting as their needs and the world around them changes.

Crimple Hall: Sustainability has driven the building design, particularly the roof form. The sawtooth roofs admit northern light to naturally illuminate the spaces while preventing overheating and direct light which could affect the produce.

High-level openings create stack ventilation to reduce the need for mechanical ventilation into the deep plan’s spaces. Solar panels on the south face of the sawtooth roofs help to provide on-site energy. The timber cladding used throughout has been sustainably sourced. The internal industrial aesthetic of exposed structure and services creates a flexible and easily adaptable building. The complex is surrounded by fields and views to the wider landscape.

To complement and enhance this setting, the existing mature trees have been supplemented by native fruiting trees and new wildflower meadow planting and hedgerows, to provide a rich habitat for wildlife. These naturally landscaped areas form the backdrop to the restaurant and external terrace, emphasising and celebrating the countryside around it.

The jury praised the way the design has been driven by good engagement with the local community and the client’s commitment to creating a high-quality, sustainable building that fits perfectly into the landscape.

Clifford’s Tower: The Tower sits atop an earth mound. From the outside it is hard to tell that any work has been done other than providing information boards, resting places, and a new handrail to the stairs leading up to it. Once visitors enter the building, the new elements are obvious and clearly distinguishable from the original fabric. Inside the walls, metal walkways and stairs are hung from a large timber structure that leads up through the Tower.

This route give access to original features hidden inside the walls including the chapel and the royal toilet. As visitors slowly rise, they find out more about the Tower’s history through information boards and soundscapes from speakers hung from the timber structure.

Audio benches offer places to sit and listen to stories about the building while looking through the slot openings at views across York, just as the Tower’s original inhabitants would have done. Upon reaching the top, visitors emerge onto a timber deck with panoramic views across the city, where further information boards explain the views and clusters of seats allow them to stop and contemplate.

Through this complete sensory experience, visitors learn about the Tower and its importance in the history of England. To achieve this subtle conservation, every stone and detail was carefully assessed and, where necessary, repaired by a team of specialist stonemasons.

New elements have been designed to be freestanding so they do not add any weight to the fragile shell, and detailed so they can be dismantled and altered in the future without affecting the ancient monument.

This scheme is an exceptional piece of conservation work combining the historic structure with unapologetically modern interventions. The quality and the craftsmanship in both the old and new elements is clear and has transformed and preserved the building for future generations.

This was a bold approach by an enlightened client and has clearly created an exciting visitor experience, shown by the rise in visitor numbers, and a huge asset to the city of York.

Park Hill Phase 2: The first phase of the project stripped the building back to its frame and used bright colours to create a distinctly modern appearance. In contrast, Phase 2 is a ‘lighter touch’, retaining more of the existing built fabric and employing more subtle colours to blend the complex into the landscape. These colours, referencing the nearby Peak District, are used on the balcony reveals and flat entrances, giving each flat its own identity while keeping the character of the overall building.

The local Pennine landscape is also reflected in the planting around the complex. New trees and wildflower meadows combine with retained existing mature trees to create a biodiverse wildlife habitat on this previously grassed site. With a brief to preserve as much of the original building as possible while making the flats more energy efficient and flexible, the architects collaborated closely with heritage experts.

Using thermal imaging, problem areas were identified and solutions developed. As the size and layout of the existing flats did not meet modern standards and ways of living, they have been reconfigured to provide generous open-plan living spaces, orientated to take advantage of the best views across the city.

The result is a variety of different flat types and that creates a mixed community and a place where both first-time buyers and families can live, work, and play. The jury were particularly impressed by how the architects have overcome the many challenges of the 1950s structure and delivering a project during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Project architect Alim Saleh, who was involved in the scheme from the early competitions stages, has been awarded RIBA Yorkshire Project Architect of the Year. Through his commitment and understanding of the building and its context, he developed a design that celebrates city centre living and respects the character of this important listed building.”

Skipton Town Hall: “North Yorkshire Council’s aspiration was to develop the historic Skipton Town Hall as an arts, culture, heritage and community hub. The building consisted of a series of disparate elements including a Grade II listed hall surrounded by ad hoc later additions including the museum.

The design therefore needed to rationalise these spaces to create a coherent, easily accessible, flexible centre for the local community. Due to its listed status, a methodical and cautious approach was taken, founded on solid understanding of the building, the location, and the heritage significance.

Detailed research was carried out to inform repair work and help make decisions on elements to be retained, remodelled, or removed. The 1860s Concert Hall has been returned to its original form by removing 1930s alterations, and its ornate plasterwork ceiling has been carefully restored.

New elements such as a demountable stage, tiered seating, and new audiovisual equipment now provide much greater flexibility, attracting a wide range of touring shows and educational events. These changes have enabled the building to offer a much wider range of events, establishing it as a cultural hub in the region.

The 1970s museum has been remodelled to create an attractive visitor experience. A new contemporary wing has been constructed using reclaimed materials from the site to house education spaces, stores, and changing rooms for events in the main hall.

The simple contemporary design of this new element complements but does not compete with the historic context of the main town hall building. The social value that this thoughtfully designed project has added to the local and wider community is shown by the increase in visitor numbers and feedback from users.”