Judging begins for this year’s York Design Awards

FOR years, York's Bonding Warehouse crouched beside the River Ouse, unloved and forlorn.

The warehouse – built in 1875 as a 'bonded warehouse', where goods transported by barge could be stored without duty being paid – was last used as a pub, restaurant and music venue. But it lay empty for almost 13 years following the great floods of November 2000.

Various plans to turn it into a hotel and restaurant and a media arts centre came to nothing. At one point, when its N dropped off, the listed building was rechristened by this newspaper's Diary column the Bo Ding Warehouse – an elegant reproach to the powers that be who could find no way of reviving it.

It is empty and unloved no more. Bought by developer Grantside in 2012, it has now been converted into offices on the ground and first floors, with four plush apartments above.

So what kind of a job have the developers made of it?

"Oh, this is great, isn't it?" said Julian Bicknell, the head of a panel of four distinguished architects who make up this year's York Design Awards judges, as he stepped through from the ground floor offices onto a balcony overlooking the River Ouse.

Inside, the offices sport the original low brick vaulted ceilings supported by cast-iron columns. Along one wall, large windows look out over the Ouse and water gates give onto the balcony.

Mr Bicknell, of London-based architects Julian Bicknell & Associates, was impressed by the office space itself. "It's remarkable how nice it feels with these low ceilings," he said.

There are, however, signs of how difficult this project has been. Peter Callaghan, Grantside's development director, admitted the building's basement, after being strengthened, has effectively had to be sacrificed because of the flood risk.

There had also been a lot of 'settlement' which needed to be tackled, he added. That has involved steel supports. The legacy is still there to be seen, though, if you look closely. "That's quite an exciting crack, isn't it?" Mr Bicknell asked at one point.

What the judges were most interested in, however, was why Grantside decided to have offices on the first two floors, and apartments above.

"If we had done offices throughout, it wouldn't have stacked up," Mr Callaghan said. "We could have done more residential, but it was a working building, and we wanted to keep it as a working building."

Interesting, that: house prices in York are now so high that developers expect to make more from converting old buildings into flats than into prime office space.

Each year, the judges spend two days visiting entries for the Design Awards, which aim to celebrate the very nest new architecture, restoration and design projects in York.

The Bonding Warehouse was just one of 25 developments visited on Monday and Tuesday by the judges: Mr Bicknell, plus Geoff Rich of Bath-based Feilden Clegg Bradley, Leeds architect Stefanie Stead, who is chair of the Construction Industry Council Yorkshire and Humber, and David Heath, chairman of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

Other schemes they saw included Piccadilly Lofts, a former car showroom overlooking the River Foss near Dave Dee's Banana Warehouse that has been converted into modern 'city living' flats.

Judges Stefanie Stead and Julian Bicknell in a flat at Piccadilly Lofts

It's not much to look at from the street: an industrial red-brick block with the new Tesco on the ground floor in what, for years, has been a pretty run-down area of York.

But the ten flats inside are all interesting angles, cleverly inserted mezzanine floors, rooftop terraces (for some) – and, from the apartments overlooking the Foss at least, stunning views of Clifford's Tower.

The judges were especially impressed by some of the detail: particularly a beautiful staircase that opens off to the right as you walk in. The banisters, craftsman-designed, flow and curve, as sinuous as a snake.

"That's a lovely thing: unbelievably difficult to make," said Mr Bicknell.

Then there was the Friends Meeting House on Friargate. Home to one of the largest Quaker meetings in the country, it has a lovely, secluded courtyard garden tucked away behind Clifford Street.

Here, a new two-storey tower has been built of brick and timber to create two new meeting rooms – the "quiet room" and the "garden room".

Janet Hopton, chairman of the York Design Awards, outside the new extension at the Friends Meeting House

Another room in the basement of the meeting house has also extensively furbished, with the original medieval wall of the old friary which gives Friargate its name enclosed behind glass panels so they can be better preserved.

The room used to be a "stinking mess" because of the all-pervading smell of damp, said David Peryer, the member of the Friargate Quaker Meeting responsible for the project. Not any more.

Other projects the judges visited this week included the revamped city archives at York Explore library, the Askham Bar park and ride, an extension at St Everilda's Church in Nether Poppleton, and Millthorpe School, where there have been extensive repairs made to the original Nunthorpe Court which is now the school's admin block.

Janet Hopton, chair of the York Design Awards steering group, said she was delighted by the range of projects that had put themselves forward for an award.

"It is crucial that we celebrate and encourage first-rate design in the city," she said.

"Good architecture and sensitive building restoration play an important part in what makes York such a special place. By showcasing current excellence we hope to encourage the designers of new developments in the city to maintain the very highest standards – to create buildings and spaces that ‘delight’.

"The judges saw a wonderful range of schemes, from small conservation projects to conversions, new public buildings and school projects. These visits gave them a good idea of how much work, by individuals and organisations, is going on, unbeknown to most of us. Quietly, often small scale, York's vast legacy of built heritage is being restored, and new build is adding to its future heritage."

Judges, including Stefanie Stead, centre, inspect offices at the Bonding Warehouse

THE winners of this year’s York Design Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony in York on June 24.

Most will be decided by the judges: but as usual this year, one award – The Press People’s Award – will be voted for by readers of The Press.

We will carry full details of the entries for The Press People’s Award soon, together with details of how you can vote. So watch this space...