THE £2.4 million restoration of York’s Mansion House in the running for an architectural award.

It is one of 13 buildings to be shortlisted for the RIBA Yorkshire (Royal Institute of British Architects) 2018 Awards.

Others include Vita Student York’s restoration of a former convent in Lawrence Street and conversion into student accommodation by Fuse Studios Ltd, which ‘responded to and respected existing landscape features,’ and the ‘sensitive’ conversion of the former Nelson’s Public House in Nelson’s Yard into two unique houses by Mesh Architects.

Other shortlisted buildings include Scarborough Market Hall and Vaults and The Hide, Driffield, both by Group Ginger Architects.

The winners will be assessed by a regional jury and announced at an awards evening at York’s Museum Gardens on Thursday May 24, hosted by BBC Look North presenter Harry Gration. They will then be considered for a RIBA national award.

Roger Hawkins, chair of the Yorkshire Judging Panel said the awards were the most rigorously judged awards for architectural excellence. “On offer were buildings and places, both large and small, public and private, including new construction and conservation work that demonstrated innovation in architecture,” he said.

A RIBA spokeswoman said the Mansion House’s ‘Opening Doors’ project by architects De Matos Ryan had delivered the most comprehensive restoration of the first purpose-built house for a Lord Mayor in the country since its completion in 1732

She said it had developed a ‘dynamic visitor experience designed to reveal the past, present and future significance of the house, its collections and the stories they hold to a wider and more extensive audience than ever before.’

She said: “For the first time, the Mansion House opens its doors permanently to the public and in so doing, this £2.4 million project, made possible with a £1.2 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, enables the conditions for this historic building to develop a sustainable resilient financial future.

“Architecturally, the project completed an extensive external and internal refurbishment of works which stripped out decades of intrusive additions to the Grade 1 Listed fabric.”