Architects set for prestigious award? (From Penarth Times)

Architects set for prestigious award?

8:10am Friday 16th April 2010 in Latest news

A FIRM of architects from Penarth has been shortlisted for a prestigious award, for its work on an environmentally friendly building.

Loyn and Co is one of only 12 architects to be shortlisted in the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Awards in Wales 2010.

The Victoria Road-based company is in the running thanks to its work on the Margam Discovery Centre in Port Talbot.

The Neath Port Talbot Council project set out to provide a sustainable energy showcase building that would give a better understanding of the environment.

Completed in April 2009, the centre acts as both a base for residential courses and a point of information for daily visitors to the Grade 1 registered historic garden and landscape in which it is built.

Constructed using a range of environmentally friendly materials and building techniques, the single-storey accommodation includes teaching labs, kitchen, refectory, reception, toilets – along with a two-storey residential block of 34 en-suite bedrooms.

Loyn and Co's principal architect on the project, Kevin Hong, said: “It took 18 months to complete and 80 per cent was pre-fabricated off-site.

“The main environmental features are good, passive design with cross ventilation and a highly insulated construction envelope. “The active features are a biomass boiler, rainwater collection, solar panels and PV panels for display and educational purposes.”

The internationally renowned RIBA Awards are given for buildings that have achieved high architectural standards and make a substantial contribution to the local environment.

A spokesman for the RIBA Awards shortlisting panel in Wales said: "The projects range enormously in scale, character and complexity – however the common theme is a rigour and confidence in design quality to transform people's lives. "The environmental standard of entries was impressively high and it is reassuring to see a majority of public projects amongst the shortlist."

All shortlisted buildings are visited by the jury, with award winners being announced on May 20.