Bath Spa University’s Locksbrook Campus has scored a hat-trick in a prestigious building industry awards scheme, including taking the top prize as overall winner.
The Grade II listed building, pictured – home to its Bath School of Art, Film & Media and Bath School of Design – was victorious in the Education and Sustainability categories of this year’s Schüco Excellence Awards, as well as claiming the title of Overall Winner.
Now in their 10th year, the awards, which showcase the best in façade design, attract a broad range of high-calibre projects from large and small architectural practices.
Locksbrook Campus was designed by renowned architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw in 1976 as a factory for acclaimed office furniture maker Herman Miller.
It was bought by the university in 2016 and, following a period of remodelling and refurbishment by Grimshaw Architects, was formally reopened in 2020 as a new campus for Bath Spa.
The transformation has created a building with innovative, open-plan space to meet 21st century environmental standards featuring technical workshops surrounded by flexible studio spaces and large social areas for students, staff and visitors.
Bath Spa said winning the three awards served as a fitting recognition of the collaboration between Grimshaw Architects and specialist façade contractor, Structura, in repurposing the building into an exceptional example of a modern educational establishment – one that inspires students studying for degrees such as BA (Hons) Architecture and BA (Hons) Interior Design.
Locksbrook Campus has previously received both a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) South West Award and RIBA National Award.
The Schüco Excellence Awards judges focused on four key criteria: creativity, innovation, technical skill and creative collaboration.
When announcing the Locksbrook Campus as the Overall Winner, judging panel member Carol Patterson, director of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, said: “This exceptional and inspiring adaptive reuse project illustrates how the industry has evolved to meet contemporary performance requirements, while maintaining the original aesthetic intent.”
Fellow judge Ingrid Petit, an associate at Feilden Fowles Architects, added: “The refurbishment of the façade on this outstanding adaptive reuse project is particularly successful, combining sensitive repairs and reuse of the primary framing and curtain walling channels.”
Bath Spa said also winning the Education Building award further cemented the project teams’ achievements and their forward-thinking approach to reuse was again commended by the judges, as was the “sophisticated yet sensitive upgrade of the existing façade and glazing systems”.
The project teams’ exemplary ‘adapt and reuse’ approach to being environmentally friendly was also celebrated with the building’s Sustainability award win, with the judges acknowledging improvements to the façade as being particularly successful due to their ability to reduce heat loss by around 80 per cent.
Head of School for Bath School of Design at Bath Spa University Dr Kristin Doen said: “Winning not one but three Schüco Excellence Awards is high praise indeed for the work that has gone into reimagining our incredible Locksbrook Campus and making it a hub for creators, thinkers, makers and doers.
“We are immensely proud of these achievements and we are grateful for the long lasting positive impact that the project has had, and will continue to have, on our community.
“These awards encapsulate how we live, breathe and teach design education – particularly architectural design – by utilising inspiration from the building and surroundings.”
Bath Spa Architecture course leader Ian Parkes added: “Through our Architecture degree, you quite literally learn about the relationships between conservation, planning and the use and reuse of spaces in relation to their location and within their historic and future contexts.
“How we design, create, reinvent and repurpose our built environment is constantly evolving, and Locksbrook Campus is an excellent real-world example of this.”
