Designs that are making a difference to lives and local communities have been celebrated at this year’s Leeds Architecture Awards.
Awards were presented in five main categories – new buildings (up to £10m in value), new buildings (more than £10m in value), adapted buildings, cultural projects and public realm & landscape.
The respective category winners were Maggie’s Yorkshire Centre, the University of Leeds’s Sir William Henry Bragg Building, Opera North’s Music Works, Leeds Playhouse and Moortown Park.
The Heatherwick Studio design team that worked on Maggie’s – a cancer support centre in the grounds of St James’s Hospital – had double cause for celebration as it also received the evening’s top prize, project of the year. A cheque for £1,000 was also presented in support of the work of the Maggie’s charity.
The roll-call of winners was completed by 11 & 12 Wellington Place, which was given a special sustainability award.
Guests at the ceremony heard from speakers including Councillor Helen Hayden, the council’s executive member for sustainable development and infrastructure.
The three award judges – renowned architects Natalia Maximova, Robert Evans and Charles Campion – also took part in a panel discussion with event host Andrew Edwards.
This year’s awards were the first to have been held since 2019, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martin Hamilton, director of Leeds Civic Trust, said: “I know the judges thought long and hard before choosing the winners – this reflected the incredibly high quality of entries this year. Leeds Civic Trust champions high quality architectural design, and there is no doubt that this year’s competition displayed these qualities in abundance.
“I was particularly pleased that this year’s competition found time to pay tribute to Mark Finch who, as director of real estate at Rushbond PLC, led the regeneration of some of the city’s most iconic buildings, including two on the shortlist for this competition – the First White Cloth Hall and the Majestic.
“Mark sadly passed away earlier this year but it is hoped that his memory will live on through a prize at future awards ceremonies.”
