Restored High Mill scoops national conservation award

The High Mill dates from 1833

A historic Dundee jute mill threatened with demolition before being saved by a £2.9m restoration has won a national conservation award.

The High Mill at Verdant Works was awarded the Historic Environment Scotland special category award for conservation and climate change.

The prize was presented at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) awards dinner in Glasgow.

The High Mill dates from 1833 and was an unused part of Verdant Works.

Verdant Works, which is run by Dundee Heritage Trust, is a surviving Dundee mill complex incorporating Scotland's award-winning Jute Museum.

David Mitchell, acting chief executive for Historic Environment Scotland, said: "Before the project started, the High Mill and the adjacent glazed-roofed preparing room had deteriorated so badly they were facing collapse or demolition.

"We have been impressed by the Trust's vision in saving this listed building, and the project itself which has been achieved for less than the cost of an equivalent new-build museum.

"The innovative approach has concentrated on the reuse of original components and salvaged materials maximising embodied energy, with new design following the building's industrial aesthetic."

The High Mill was restored with salvaged material and original components

Gill Poulter, heritage director for Dundee Heritage Trust said: "In this Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design we are especially proud to receive this award as recognition of what our charity has accomplished in saving a stunning building and transforming it into a dramatic gallery space that is now full of life and activity.''

The project's architect, Doug Reid, said: 'We are thrilled to win the RIAS award for this project as we believe we have achieved something very special at Verdant Works.

"Our innovative architectural scheme to remove the rotten wooden floors has revealed the skeleton of the building and created a full height cathedral-like space."

A vintage steam engine features at the mill