We’re delighted to announce that the team behind the design of Tŷ Pawb have won the prestigious Gold Medal for Architecture at the National Eisteddfod of Wales held at Llanrwst.
London based architects Featherstone Young were announced as the winners at an awards ceremony on Saturday.
Their design work helped transform Wrexham’s old People’s Market (with its multi storey car park) into a brand new facility with art galleries, market stalls, performance space, a learning centre, cafes, studios and meeting rooms.
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Tŷ Pawb beats off stiff competition
Tŷ Pawb receives this award against stiff competition from seven shortlisted building projects including Maggie’s Centre in Cardiff by Dow Jones; Canolfan S4C Yr Egin media hub by BDP with the Rural Office for Architecture and Y Gweithdy, National Museum of History, St Fagans by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.
The award is supported by the Design Commission for Wales and awarded in association with the Royal Society of Architects in Wales.
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The award was accepted at the ceremony by Tŷ Pawb’s Creative Director, Jo Marsh, and Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for People – Communities, Partnerships Public Protection and Community Safety, Cllr Hugh Jones.
“A team effort with social value at its heart”
Sarah Featherstone of Featherstone Young said: “We are so pleased to see Tŷ Pawb win the Gold Medal for Architecture this was a huge team effort with social value at its heart.
“Our baggy space concept applied to the physical spaces has extended to the exhibition programming and invites the wider community to use the building in a range of different ways and have a platform to raise important local and cultural issues. This builds on our approach to other projects we have completed in Wales including Ty Hedfan, an exemplar for modern vernacular housing and recently completed Found Gallery in Brecon.”
Cllr Hugh Jones, said: “We are delighted and honoured to accept this award with our architects, Featherstone Young.
“Our vision for Tŷ Pawb was to create a unique community resource, celebrating arts and culture alongside Wrexham’s rich market town heritage. The bold, bright and dynamic design of the building has played a key role in Tŷ Pawb’s success and has helped us transform an old market hall and car park into the vibrant new facility we have today.
“It is wonderful to see this hard work recognised at the National Eisteddfod and I am immensely proud to see a building in Wrexham receive this award. Huge congratulations to all those involved in this fantastic achievement.”
“Visionary architectural thinking”
Tŷ Pawb’s Creative Director, Jo Marsh, said: “Tŷ Pawb’s versatile spaces and the high quality of the design work has helped us to expand our cultural offer to include all sorts of activities from art exhibitions and music festivals to family activities and corporate events. It’s also home to a wide range of independent businesses and food and drink retailers.
“To incorporate all this successfully under one roof required huge creativity. It has been so rewarding to see this hard work pay off and to see the building grow and flourish since opening in April 2018.”
Selector and architect Trevor Skempton said: “The future of our town centres and high streets is a pressing concern for architects, and Tŷ Pawb by Featherstone Young tackled this urban problem in an immediate and imaginative way, by recycling and retrofitting a town centre structure from the 1980s.
“There was evidently visionary architectural thinking in Wrexham County Borough Council’s commissioning process, in which the possibility of using space in this way was first identified.
“Realisation of what has been called ‘baggy space’, the introduction of warmer materials, the ‘choreography’ of the new services, clear respect for the qualities of the existing structure, and the exciting coordination of graphics and furniture design, have led towards an integrated architecture of genuine quality, with exciting potential for further growth and development.”
The full shortlist
- Ysgol Trimsaran primary school, Camarthenshire by Architype Ltd;
- Ysgol Pen Rhos primary school, Llanelli by HLM Architects;
- Maggie’s Centre in Cardiff by Dow Jones;
- Canolfan S4C Yr Egin media hub by BDP with the Rural Office for Architecture;
- Y Gweithdy, National Museum of History, St Fagans by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios;
- Silver How, Llanhennock by Hall + Bednarczyk.
- Ty Pawb, Wrexham, by Featherstone Young
