Latest news with #PeterWomersley
Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Times
Heritage bodies unite in bid to save award-winning Bernat Klein Studio
Leading Scottish heritage and design organisations have joined forces in an effort to restore one of the country's 'most important 20th-century buildings' after the deteriorating property was put up for auction. The Bernat Klein Foundation, the National Trust for Scotland and Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) have launched a collective effort, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to save the Bernat Klein Studio near Selkirk from ruin and create a new venue to inspire creative arts in the Borders. Designed in 1972 by the modernist architect Peter Womersley for the textile designer Klein, the Category A-listed studio was once the beating heart of the textile industry in the south of the country. The Serbian-born Klein (1922-2014) gained international renown by designing collections there for many famous fashion houses including Chanel and Dior.
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Coalition formed to save Modernist landmark from ruin
Designed in 1972 by renowned modernist architect Peter Womersley and influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, the Category A-listed studio is one of Scotland's most important 20th-century buildings and was once the beating heart of the textile industry in the Borders. Textile designer Bernat Klein, who died in 2014, gained international renown by designing collections here for many famous fashion houses including Chanel and Dior. READ MORE: Modernist masterpiece built for Bernat Klein up for auction Bernat Klein: Fashioning a life in colour Village church for sale as congregation search for new home The studio is currently in a severely dilapidated state and has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 2002. A condition survey and structural assessment instructed by Scottish Borders Council in 2023 revealed a building with significant and myriad issues due to its prolonged vacancy, water damage, deterioration and acts of vandalism. Now, it has been put up for sale by public auction at the end of the month. Initially, however, the priority is to secure ownership of the property and prevent further deterioration. The National Lottery Heritage Fund's support gives our coalition the confidence to back a competitive bid for the building and have a plan for much-needed emergency repairs. A crowdfunding appeal launched by SHBT is now underway to give the coalition the best fighting chance of purchasing the building at auction. With support from across the heritage and cultural sector, as well as from local politicians, the three organisations have united as the Bernat Klein Studio Coalition. We aim to buy and restore the building in a project that will see the Studio returned to its original use as a design studio, alongside a programme of public engagement. The Category A-listed studio is one of Scotland's most important 20th-century buildings (Image: Phil Wilkinson) Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, whose previous projects have included the restoration of Riddle's Court on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, will oversee the delivery of a repair and restoration project – working with the [[National Trust for Scotland]] and a range of conservation and architectural specialists. Once complete, it is intended the building will provide a permanent base in the [[Scottish Borders]] for the Bernat Klein Foundation, whose creative-led projects include exhibitions, workshops and talks. Professor Alison Harley, Chair of Trustees of the Bernat Klein Foundation, said: "We all want the building to be sensitively conserved and restored to be part of Scotland's creative and cultural heritage for future generations. The Coalition believes that Klein's studio should be returned to its original use, highlighting the important legacy of textile and design and creating an attraction to Scotland and the Scottish Borders. "This is a building that has been kept to the fore by the Peter Womersley group, who have long campaigned to see such internationally celebrated architecture brought back into public use, as is now intended by the Coalition." Philip Long OBE, Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland, said: "The Bernat Klein Studio is an outstanding example in Scotland of 20th-century design heritage, combining the entwined legacies of Klein and Womersley – two of the most innovative designers in Scotland of the latter half of the 20th century. After many years, this appeal is an opportunity to help save this remarkable building, which represents an all-too-often overlooked aspect of our recent past, for the nation." The studio is currently in a severely dilapidated state (Image: Phil Wilkinson) Dr Samuel Gallacher, Director of Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, said: "We are so grateful to the Heritage Fund and National Lottery players for their support. Attempting to buy at auction is a real unknown. This is why our call for donations and support is so important to make sure we have the best possible chance to acquire this unique building. "We know that there are many people who have campaigned to save this building for many years. Their hard work has helped get us to this position, and with the broad passion out there for both Bernat Klein and Peter Womersley. We are grateful for each and every donation, which will have a real impact to make our dream for this building a reality. "This project will allow Scottish Historic Buildings Trust to test and advocate for ways to preserve, adapt and rejuvenate historic concrete buildings. This is no easy task and will require us to assemble a highly specialist team of experts. However, this will be an investment with a broad impact."
The National
6 days ago
- Business
- The National
Bid to save run-down studio in Scottish Borders of renowned designer
Bernat Klein, the Serbian-born designer who died in 2014, collaborated with major European fashion houses such as Dior. Nestled beside the A707 between Galashiels and Selkirk, the Category-A Listed Bernat Klein Studio is a striking piece of late Modernist architecture by Peter Womersley, built in 1972 as a creative hub for Klein. The building's owners have put the studio up for auction at a bargain price of £18,000. READ MORE: More than 100 jobs lost as IT firm enters administration as legal challenge launched Now Scottish Heritage Building Trust (SHT) has joined forces with the National Trust Scotland and the Bernat Klein Foundation, with support from The National Lottery [[Heritage]] Fund Scotland, in a bid to save the building from ruin and bring it back into public and community use. The venture has also garnered the support of Scottish Borders Council. A spokesperson for SHBT said: 'Our organisations have been working behind the scenes for several years to try to find a way forward for one of Scotland's most important twentieth-century buildings. 'Now, with the Category A-Listed studio set to be sold by public auction at the end of the month, we have launched a coalition project aimed at purchasing and restoring the building alongside a programme of public engagement. 'The first priority is to secure ownership of the property and prevent further deterioration. We are delighted that support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund gives the coalition the confidence to back a competitive bid for the building and have a plan for much-needed emergency repairs. 'To give us the best chance of success in acquiring the building at auction, SHBT is launching an urgent fundraising appeal to raise as much support as possible. 'It is estimated the full cost of restoration undertaken by specialists could exceed £2.5 – £3 million. If successful in purchasing the building, SHBT will oversee the delivery of a repair and restoration project working with the National Trust for Scotland and a range of conservation and architectural specialists. 'Once complete, it is intended the building will provide a permanent base in the Scottish Borders for the Bernat Klein Foundation as a new venue to inspire creative arts in the Scottish Borders.' Conceived as both a working studio and exhibition space, it celebrated the intersection of industrial craftsmanship and artistic vision. It is a two‑storey concrete and brick structure with powerful horizontal cantilevers, wide frameless glazing, and a brick-clad central service core – housing stairs, kitchen, and toilets – to free up the perimeter for workspaces and storage. Influenced by Wright's Fallingwater and Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House, it has been described as a 'modernist masterpiece of structural elegance integrated into its wooded landscape' but has been in a state of decline for more than 20 years. David Robertson, chief executive, Scottish Borders Council, said: 'Peter Womersley's Bernat Klein Studio is a proud part of our architectural heritage in the Scottish Borders. 'We are fortunate to have so many of his buildings in our area. Given this importance, we have been encouraging a sustainable long-term solution for Womersley's Bernat Klein Studio, located between Selkirk and Galashiels, for some time. (Image: Phil Wilkinson) 'We are delighted to support this coalition of heritage and arts bodies who offer an exciting future for this building which will strengthen not only our local heritage but provide new creative and economic opportunities for our region.' Donations and pledges of support for the campaign to acquire and restore Bernat Klein Studio can also be made directly to Scottish Historic Buildings Trust through Millie Leadbetter-Wilcock, millie@ 0131 220 1232. The property is being auctioned by Savills.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Heritage groups try to save decaying modernist studio in Scottish Borders
A coalition of heritage and design groups has launched a last-minute bid to save one of the UK's most threatened modernist buildings after its owners put it up for auction. The late modernist studio was built in the Scottish Borders in 1972 for the textile designer Bernat Klein, whose fabrics were worn by Coco Chanel and Jean Shrimpton, and is widely regarded as a jewel of late 20th-century architecture. But the category A-listed studio, which won architectural awards for its designer, Peter Womersley, has been vacant for decades and is in severe disrepair, featuring on the Scottish buildings at risk register since 2002. To the surprise of heritage groups who had hoped to buy the property from them privately, its owners have put the building up for auction through the auctioneers Savills with an indicative price of £18,000. The listing has forced those groups to launch a fundraising appeal backed by the National Heritage Lottery Fund to try to buy it at auction on 28 July, potentially competing with other bidders who could push the price up. The coalition, which includes the National Trust for Scotland, the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust and the Bernat Klein Foundation, which promotes the textile designer's work and life, said it would then need to raise about £2.5-£3m to fully restore the studio. It is now vandalised, with smashed glass, rotting timber, crumbling concrete posts and barbed wire rolled along the balustrades of the elevated walkway that takes visitors into the building. Prof Alison Harley, chair of trustees for the Bernat Klein Foundation, said they had been in talks for months with the owners about buying the studio privately and were disappointed by the sudden decision to auction it. The coalition, which is supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund and the Twentieth Century Society, plans to return the building to its original purpose as a design studio and public education centre run by the foundation. She said the studio told 'quite a hidden story' about the two talents of Klein the designer and textiles visionary, who reinvented tweed design, and Womersley the architectural genius, who both made the Borders their home. The men were close friends and collaborators. 'They tell a 20th-century story of design and architecture together,' she said. The two-storey brick, concrete and glass studio sits close to Klein's home at High Sunderland north of Selkirk, which Womersley designed in the late 1950s, setting both in a carefully designed parkland. Womersley, already an established and sought-after designer, was partly inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's famous modernist house Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, which is cantilevered over mountain streams. A winner of a Royal Institute for British Architects award and often listed among Scotland's finest modernist buildings, the studio was used by Klein to design his fabrics, make his textiles and receive clients. The buildings at risk register notes it is a 'very fine sculptural late modernist building' which, with its bold horizontal cantilevered concrete and 'finely framed vertical glazing', showed 'a monumental sensibility executed with sophistication and with great attention to detail'. Serbian-born Klein was one of the few members of his Orthodox Jewish family to survive the Holocaust having studied in Jerusalem during the war. He arrived in the UK in 1945 to study woven textiles at Leeds University, before setting up his firm Colourcraft in 1952 in Galashiels, the Borders town then at the centre of the region's thriving textiles industry. His abstract, colourful and often tactile designs won him clients including the fashion houses Balenciaga, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as commissions from the furniture firms G Plan and Heal's in London. He was also a colour consultant to the then Department of the Environment, an arm of the UK government. Dr Samuel Gallacher, director of the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, which hopes to lead on the restoration of the building, said that attempting to buy it at auction was 'a real unknown'. But doing so would be a significant achievement. 'Thinking of Scotland's rich heritage of 20th-century architecture, much of which is at risk and is poorly adapted to our changing climate, this project can be an exemplar of how to save our modernist and brutalist buildings,' he said.
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
A-listed brutalist studio up for sale at £18,000
The dilapidated studio of renowned textile designer Bernat Klein is to go on sale with a guide price of £18, studio, which nestles beside the A707 near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, was built for Klein in two‑storey concrete and brick structure was designed by Peter Womersley who is considered to be one of the greatest brutalist architects to have worked in the building, which was granted a category A listing in 2002, has been in a state of decline for more than 20 years. Klein, a Serbian-born designer who died in 2014, collaborated with major European fashion houses such as Dior to design some of the most beautiful textiles of the 20th studio was built as a workspace for design, weaving and exhibiting lies adjacent to his home, High Sunderland, built by Womersley in 1958 and also a listed Environment Scotland (HES) describes the studio as a "very fine sculptural late Modernist building designed by Peter Womersley".It says the building was designed to connect harmoniously with its setting on the sloping wooded severe horizontality of the concrete elements succeed in contrasting with the verticals of the trees around it, HES property is being auctioned by Savills, which describes it as in need of modernisation, with further potential, "subject to requisite consents"."It remains a masterpiece of structural elegance integrated into its wooded landscape," Savills other works include Netherdale, the football stadium he designed for Gala Fairydean FC in 1963, the boiler house of the former Dingleton Hospital in Melrose and part of Edinburgh's Western General Hospital.
