CIVIC TRUST AWARD WINNER
MARCH 2022
The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment.
The longest-standing built environment awards in Europe, their aim is to encourage the best in architecture and environmental design and to recognise projects that offer a positive cultural, social, economic or environmental benefit to their local communities.
The New Library was announced as the Eastern Winner from 160 entries from across the UK and Internationally. The judging panel commented: “The execution of the new library and its relationship with Magdalene College is delightful and appropriate and will be enjoyed by the college for many years to come.”
Fellow and Chairman of Cloverleaf, Professor Tom Spencer (1973) said: “We are so delighted with this Civic Trust Award which confirms what we already know - a brilliant building that works so well for us in so many ways."
AYR MASTERPLAN
FEBRUARY 2017
In collaboration with acclaimed international land artist Charles Jencks the masterplan for Ayr has been given planning consent. The project has been conceived as an urban square next to the River Ayr that will be used for festivals and events.
The scheme, focuses around a new glazed structure, that will open up a number of views blocked by post-war development and includes commercial, cultural, leisure, community, hotel and residential buildings. South Ayrshire Council has already committed to building a new council office for 350 of its staff as part of the scheme.
Ayr Renaissance began purchasing the mainly 20th century buildings on the site almost four years ago with funding from the council and the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.
Demolition will begin immediately on the buildings within the plot, which falls inside the Ayr Central Conservation, following the approval for the masterplan by South Ayrshire Council last week.
Archaeologists will work alongside the demolition contractors in preparation for a six-month dig.
James Knox, chairman of Ayr Renaissance, said: ‘This decision marks a turning point in the fortunes of Ayr. Decades of blight will be swept away, opening up the river to the town’s people for the first time in generations. ‘Our masterplan offers a humane and beautiful solution to the transformation of this key site, which will act as a magnet for visitors, office workers and inhabitants alike. It marks a sea change in the economy of the town.’