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The design of an arts centre housed within a multi-storey car park and market complex has been recognised by the award of the prestigious Gold Medal for Architecture at the National Eisteddfod.

And an architecture student from Wrexham will receive a coveted scholarship which will allow her to travel to the south Pacific.

London-based architects Featherstone Young will receive the accolade for the design of Wrexham’s Ty Pawb (Everybody’s House) in a ceremony at the festival in Llanrwst later today.

Their design has transformed the town’s old People’s Market and its 1980s multi-storey car park into a brand new facility with art galleries, market stalls, performance space, a learning centre, cafes, studios and meeting rooms. The original car park remains in use.

Selector Trevor Skempton said: “The future of our town centres and high streets is a pressing concern for architects, and Ty Pawb tackled this urban problem in an imaginative way, by recycling a town centre structure from the 1980s.

“There was evidently visionary architectural thinking in Wrexham Council’s commissioning process, in which the possibility of using space in this way was first identified.

“Realisation of what has been called ‘baggy space’, the introduction of warmer materials, clear respect for the qualities of the existing structure have led towards an integrated architecture of genuine quality, with exciting potential for further growth and development.”

Sarah Featherstone of Featherstone Young said: “We are so pleased to see TyPawb win the Gold Medal for Architecture as this was a huge team effort with social value at its heart.

“Our baggy space concept applied to the physical spaces has extended to the exhibition programming and invites the wider community to use the building in a range of different ways and have a platform to raise important local and cultural issues. This builds on our approach to other projects we have completed in Wales.”

The shortlist

Seven building projects were shortlisted for this year’s Gold Medal for Architecture, which is supported by the Design Commission for Wales in association with the Royal Society of Architects in Wales (RSAW).

Ty Pawb was the only North Wales project among the shortlist which also included S4C’s new Egin building in Carmarthen and the Gweithdy at the National Museum of History, St Fagans near Cardiff.

Carole-Anne Davies, Chief Executive of the Design Commission for Wales, said: “The shortlist this year has been characterised by the ingenuity that accompanies very good design.

“The constraints of tight sites and seemingly intractable urban challenges have created the conditions for the very best creative problem solving, intrinsic to architectural excellence.”

RSAW director, Mary Wrenn, added: “People are at the heart of all the commissions represented in the 2019 shortlist.

“The Gold Medal-winning building Ty Pawb and the Plaque of Merit winner Maggie’s Cardiff, show architects bringing long-term benefits to society.”

Architecture Scholarship

Meanwhile a Wrexham architect will receive the Eisteddfod’s Architecture Scholarship.

Amabelle Aranas, 21, will use the £1,500 to fund a trip to Savusavu, Fiji to help design and build a school.

Amabelle said: “This will hopefully increase my knowledge in live build and on-site building methods and allow me to develop more skills in architectural fields whilst experiencing a different culture.”

On her return to Wrexham she will seek a placement with an architecture practice for her year out of university.

The scholarship, which is open to under 25 year olds from Wales or with a Welsh connection, aims to give the most promising young architect an opportunity to further his or her understanding of creative architecture.

Selector Sara Hedd Ifan of Powell Dobson Architects said of the Newcastle University student’s submission: “It is clear this young architect enjoys designing at a human scale. Her consideration of the user’s experience is a mature thread running through her projects - from the brief, through the working models, to the final designs.

“It is evident that Amabelle Aranas’ development method is full of energy and ideas, and her process of creating and experimenting through photographing small models and making quick sketches is both striking and enticing.”

Brass bands and choirs take centre stage in the main pavilion as the National Eisteddfod gets underway this weekend.

The smaller pavilions around the Maes all stage short opening ceremonies followed by a range of activities.

The main prizes will be announced in Y Lle Celf, (Art Exhibition) with Gold Medals for art, craft and architecture being awarded.

Y Babell Len sees a commemorative presentation about comedian Gari Williams, one of the area’s most famous sons, at 4.15pm today. His daughter, Nia, is the leader of the Wales and the World contingent this year.

Later the venue becomes a cabaret featuring tonight a comedy club.

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