The Vinery

Ian Shepherd Award winner

Conservation and Building Adaptation: distinction and category winner

Architect: GD Lodge Architects
Main Contractor: Ken Barbour Builders
Engineer: Will Rudd Davidson
Location: Banff

The Vinery is category B listed and all that remains of the extensive series of buildings and gardens forming part of the Duff House estate, however it had been underused since the 1980s, with years of neglect and deterioration. The building has now been repurposed into a community facility after is sympathetic repair through the use of traditional materials and techniques. Energy usage has been considered in the design, with the new timber frame of the Vinery being locally crafted.

Ian Shepherd Award: judges comments

The judges chose The Vinery as their overall winner and recipient of the Ian Shepherd Award due to restoration of the buildings being successfully achieved by restoring the structures which stood on the site previously.

No new architecture has been introduced, and the judges commented that projects such as this are rare, requiring vision to be able to produce a project to this standard. The newly published National Planning Framework 4 has a strong message towards the reuse of existing buildings, which this project delivers to bring a derelict structure back into use for the community.

The success of the building’s restoration is shown by how well used it is by the local community and has succeeded in removing a listed building from the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. The judges felt awarding the Ian Shepherd Award to the Vinery would have a positive impact on the further reuse of traditional buildings across Aberdeenshire.

Conservation and Building Adaptation: judges comments

The judges commented that it was good to see a redundant building brought back into use through its restoration and modernisation and felt that it is now an asset within the centre of Banff. It was commented that buildings such as these are tough to restore and to find new uses, so the work here is admirable.