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Tiree's An Turas wins top award
23/10/2003
Culture Minister Frank McAveety today congratulated
Tiree's An Turas building project team on winning
Scotland's most prestigious award for architecture.
The ferry shelter on Tiree was named as winner of the
Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Award
for Architecture - Best Building in Scotland.
The winning architects - Sutherland Hussey - will
receive £25,000, one of the largest building awards in the
world.
'An Turas', which has already won both the RIBA Award
2003 and the Royal Scottish Academy Gold Medal for
Architecture 2003 and was shortlisted for the Stirling
Prize, was designed to create a unified work both
physically and conceptually to connect with the landscape
of Tiree.
Mr McAveety said:
"I am delighted to see An Turas triumph in such a
prestigious competition. The building is a wonderfully
imaginative example of how art, architecture and landscape
can be combined to reflect the spirit of a place.
"It is a very modest, rural project, and it seemed the
outsider among high profile buildings, but the judges have
clearly recognised the pleasing poetry and the purity of
the design.
"There is a vibrant artistic community of Tiree, and I
heartily commend the Tiree Arts Enterprise for their vision
and enthusiasm in drawing together artists, and engineers
for this collaborative work.
"I am pleased too, for the public attention that this
award brings to Tiree and hope that this publicity will
attract new visitors to this very special island; and I
offer my warm congratulations to Sutherland Hussey and all
involved in the project on their great success."
An Turas was a Scottish Arts Council funded project for
Architect, Artist and Engineer to collaborate in making a
structure for the island of Tiree.
It was designed by Sutherland Hussey Architects with
artists Jake Harvey, Donald Urquhart, Glen Onwin and Sandra
Kennedy. An Turas is a shelter with views of the bay which
also works as a sculptural form in the landscape, and which
explores the sensory experience of views and shelter.
It won both the RIBA Award 2003 and the Royal Scottish
Academy Gold Medal for Architecture 2003 and was
shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for Architecture.