A REALLY IMPORTANT VISITOR

Richard Simmons who is the Chief Executive Officer at CABE in London(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) came to visit our school. He and his staff advise on how to design great buildings...and he'd heard that ours was one he should come and see for himself. So he came and looked round and spoke to Lyn and Evelyn and Cath our architect.

He was very impressed by all the work the school had done getting its ideas in the beginning and then sticking to them in the long time it took to get the new school designed and built.

He asked for what we thought was important for the design so we gave him some tips. We told him that it was important to know what you wanted, 'cos if you don't know, don't be surprised if you don't get it!!! Oh, and of course there should always be a job for construction buddies.

Sheffield Design Awards 2009

February 11th is the day we find out...

There are now just six distinctive projects in the city in line to win either the Best Building Award or the Neighbourhood & Community Design Award.

Architectural firms and industry professionals entered the competition and a high profile judging panel - which included Nick Johnson, Deputy Chief Executive of Urban Splash and Corin Mellor, Creative Director of David Mellor Design – visited many of the entries before making their final selection.

It is the first year of the competition which is being run in partnership by Sheffield Civic Trust (SCT) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Yorkshire.

The six shortlisted projects are:
Butcher Works – A listed factory building converted to residential use by Race Cottam Associates

Information Commons – The new Sheffield University Learning Centre designed by RMJM.

No 1 North Bank – a speculative office building on the Wicker, designed by BDP Sheffield.

The Sharrow School – The new school with a green roof, facing Sharrow Park, designed by architects at Sheffield City Council.

Sterling Works – A listed factory converted into a mix of uses for Freeman College by Tatlow Stancer Architects.

Vestry Hall – A listed building converted into a community learning centre by Allen Tod Architecture.

Simon Gedye, Chair of Sheffield Civic Trust said:

"We were delighted to have so many high quality entries and the panel
deliberated long and hard about which projects were worthy of the shortlist.
Their final selection represents an excellent cross section of the great new
buildings that have been built in Sheffield as the city continues to be
transformed. "

Emma England, head of RIBA Yorkshire, said:

"Good building design plays a vital role in the creation of successful cities.
RIBA Yorkshire work hard to demonstrate the benefits of good architecture and
promote our member's work. We were very keen to work with the Sheffield Civic
Trust on the creation of this awards scheme as Sheffield has some of the best
contemporary architecture in the region. This is clearly evident from the
quality of projects on the shortlist."

The winners will be announced at the SCT Awards Ceremony in February 2009.

FILM STARS....

Follow the link below to the video's of Lynne, Evelyn, Cath and David talking about our school and all the thinking and planning that led to it being built.

http://future.ncsl.org.uk/CaseList.aspx