The restoration of a world-famous St Ives building has seen it long-listed for a prestigious award.
Porthmeor Studios and Fishermen’s Cellars is the only building in Devon and Cornwall vying for the Stirling Best Building prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The £4million renovation work, designed by architects Long and Kentish, will see the Grade II listed building go up against other high profile buildings including London’s Shard sky-scraper to compete for the award.
The restoration project at the studios has already picked up a range of regional awards including from the Cornish Buildings Group and the English Heritage Angels awards.
The need for extensive repairs gave the Studios’ guardians The Borlase Smart John Wells Trust a major task 15 years ago to raise the funding to protect and refurbish the culturally and economically important building.
“The delicate task we all faced was to achieve almost the impossible – to thoroughly protect and secure this beautiful and historic building to the highest modern standards without wrenching out the atmospheric heart that has built organically over generations and which has made it so uniquely special,” says Chris Hibbert of the Borlase Smart John Wells Trust.
“That Porthmeor Studios now look almost as if they haven’t been touched – down to the splashes of paint left by previous generations of artists – is a real tribute to the sensitive and painstaking work of our brilliant team – all of which has rightly won national acclaim.”
The RIBA Stirling Prize is a £20,000 annual gong awarded to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year. The shortlist will be announced on July 17 and the prize will be presented on Thursday October 16 in London.