Highly commended and shortlist
Highly commended
Festival House Blackpool, by dRMM
This wedding venue on Blackpool seafront, popularly known as the ‘Tower of Love,’ has a presence greater than one would expect from its size, due partly to its quirky form including a bold cantilever, and partly to the gold-coloured cladding. It is designed to frame views of Blackpool Tower and the sea, making the two main wedding rooms perfect settings for photography. Cross laminated timber for both structure and internal finish positions it in the realm of popular culture. BREEAM Excellent construction keeps the marine weather out, while the interior is a direct and powerful expression of the building programme and use of wood. For the judges it is ‘a bravura exercise in the use of CLT, particularly on the cantilevered structure’.
Shortlist
Abbotsford visitor reception building, Melrose, Scottish Borders, LDN Architects
Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth, Wilkinson Eyre Architects
