A-listed former textile studio sells for £279,000

The studio once used by Bernat Klein has been sold at auction

The dilapidated studio of renowned textile designer Bernat Klein has been sold at auction for £279,000 - more than 15 times its guide price.

A consortium of leading Scottish heritage and design organisations was successful in its bid to buy the building.

The property - which sits close to the A707 near Selkirk in the Borders - was built for Klein in 1972.

Bidding quickly passed the original guide price of £18,000 before the property was sold at auction by Savills.

Klein was an influential figure in the world of fashion and design

The concrete and brick structure was designed by Peter Womersley who is considered to be one of the greatest brutalist architects to have worked in Scotland.

News of its sale emerged earlier this month and soon afterwards leading Scottish heritage and design organisations joined forces in a bid to buy the building to bring it into public use.

The property, which was granted a Category A listing in 2002, has been in a state of decline for more than two decades.

Klein, who died in 2014, collaborated with major European fashion houses such as Dior to design some of the most beautiful textiles of the 20th Century.

His studio was built as a workspace for design, weaving and exhibiting samples.

It lies adjacent to his home, High Sunderland, built by Womersley in 1958 and also a listed building.

The studio was built in 1972

The Bernat Klein Foundation (BKF), the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) and Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) launched the successful coalition bid to save the property from ruin.

They hope to "create a new venue to inspire creative arts in the Scottish Borders".

It has been estimated the full cost of restoration undertaken by specialists could exceed £3m.

However, the group's first priority is to "secure ownership of the property and prevent further deterioration".

It will cost up to £3m to bring the building into public use

They hope to restore the building to be used as a design studio alongside a programme of public engagement.

Once complete it is intended the site would become a permanent base in the Borders for the BKF whose projects include exhibitions, workshops and talks.

Its chair of trustees, Prof Alison Harley, said: "We are delighted that after many years, the future for Klein's Studio looks very bright.

"We would like to thank everyone who has supported our efforts so far and we look forward to sharing plans and progress over the months ahead."

'First step'

SHBT director Dr Samuel Gallacher said buying the building was "just the first step" in their "exciting project".

He said repairing and restoring the building would now take many months, the skills of specialists and the support of many people.

Philip Long, NTS chief executive, said it had been working behind the scenes with others for many years to save the building.

"Now through our partnership we can be confident this significant building, the story of its architect and its resident will survive to be shared with people now and in the future and help to inspire new creativity," he added.