Praise for ‘brutalist eyesore’s’ makeover

Sheffield’s newly-revamped Park Hill flats, a new academy in Hull and a purpose-built enterprise centre have been awarded RIBA National Awards by the Royal Institute of British Architects, putting them in contention for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Park Hill Phase One, designed by regeneration specialists Urban Splash, was praised for the “sensitive” treatment of a “heroic” building “that has become maligned due to the problems associated with poorly maintained housing.”

After a multi-million pound makeover, it boasts a colourful new facade which judges said gave the building a changing face “while not challenging the original architecture”.

Chairman of the jury Sarah Featherstone said: “The result is visually striking without losing any of the original “Park Hill” look - the “streets in the sky” live on.”

Kingswood Academy “a visual and intellectual beacon in the flatlands of East Yorkshire” also won praise for architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, for its “bold yet simple” form.

The school, built as part of Hull’s Building Schools for the Future, was praised for features including its “centrally located and glazed bully-deterring toilets” and “spacious laboratories under the saw-tooth roof with extraordinary views across the city.”

“Striking” SOAR Works enterprise centre, in Knutton Road, Parson Cross, designed by London firm Architecture 00:/ (cor), “offers a real sense of place which plays an important role in providing social and employment opportunities to the neighbourhood”, the judges said.

Regional Awards have gone to 192 Shoreham Street, Sheffield (Project Orange Architects) Cat Hill Barn, Hoylandswaine (Snook Architects) and Holy Trinity School, Barnsley (Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architects)