West Midlands buildings shortlisted for awards

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is one of the 12 buildings shortlisted

Twelve buildings across the West Midlands have been shortlisted for regional architectural awards.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has unveiled the projects that have been nominated for the West Midlands Awards 2024.

They include the reinvention of the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings into a social enterprise, the conversion of a derelict reservoir building into a family home and the reordering of a church.

RIBA West Midlands jury chair Jessica Barker said the range of schemes showed ambition and a “growing interest in low-energy and regenerative design”.

She said: “From museums to converted maltings, remote rural one-off homes and a scientific research centre, the shortlisted projects demonstrate an appetite for sustainability and growing interest in a fabric-first approach, coupled with a respect for the surrounding agricultural heritage which characterises the West Midlands.

“They showcase the positive potential for architecture to build community cohesion, local pride, belonging and greater engagement in our shared, industrial history.”

The Ecohub at the Witton Lodge Community Association in Birmingham has been shortlisted

The 12 projects shortlisted are:

• Black Country Living Museum, Dudley

• Clifford Reservoir, Wye Valley

• Cotswolds House, Cotswolds

• Cruck Framed House, Upton Magna, Shropshire

• Cwm Barn, Herefordshire

• Ecohub - Witton Lodge Community Association, Birmingham

• Halo Reordering - St. Mary Magdalene Church, Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire

• Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building, The University of Warwick

• Manresa House, Birmingham

• Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, Shrewsbury

• St Richard's Hospice, Worcester

• The Catalyst Building, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent

All the sites will be visited by jury members for RIBA and the winners will be announced in the spring.

They will then be considered for several special RIBA awards, including building of the year, before being entered for a national award, the winner for which will be announced in the summer.