Henfield building project wins trio of prestigious RIBA South East Awards

Sandy Rendel Architects, who built Morlands Farm Dutch Barn in Henfield, have created the new build under a Class Q of the General Permitted Development Order.

The barn is part of a wider farmstead and sits beside the Sussex Prairie Gardens, a unique naturalistic perennial garden on the South East England gardens trail.

The Sandy Rendel Architects website said: "The conversion places sleeping and home office accommodation on the ground floor, reserving the vaulted upper storey for a large open plan living space with elevated views across the gardens.

"The aim was to make a dwelling that is clearly legible as a former agricultural building in the landscape, with corrugated metal cladding used in conjunction with sliding metal shutters in reference to traditional agricultural building elements."

Morlands Farm Dutch Barn won the 2022 RIBA South East Award winning project for West Sussex, as well as the RIBA South East Client of the Year and RIBA South East Small Project of the Year, sponsored by Gaggenau.

The seven projects were selected by the expert jury, who visited all 12 shortlisted projects.

Regional jury chair Adam Richards said: "Good architecture solves problems, makes ‘places’ and shapes us as people.

"The significant number of school projects in this year’s RIBA South East Awards shows that many clients in the education sector recognise that working with good architects can add significant value.

"This value lies not just in mastering often-complex briefs, but also in adding quality buildings sensitively and creatively to school estates, for the benefit of students and staff.

"Other award-winning buildings demonstrate high standards in conservation, innovation and an understanding of the nature of place – harnessing the communicative power of architecture to mediate our understanding of life and death."

The 2022 RIBA South East Building of the Year, sponsored by Taylor Maxwell, will be announced on May 24 at a ceremony at RIBA’s HQ in London.

RIBA South East Award winners will now be considered for a highly-coveted RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, which will be announced in June. The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects later in the year.

RIBA Special Awards are sponsored by Michelmersh, Taylor Maxwell and Gaggenau.

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