Âé¶¹´«Ã½ academic wins Architects' Journal award Published on: 21 June 2024 Jack Mutton, Lecturer in Architecture at Âé¶¹´«Ã½, has won awards for his work to transform a derelict office block into artists’ studios and community spaces. Retrofitting His work retrofitting the disused five storey Shieldfield Centre for which supports artists curators and local communities, won this year’s Architect’s Journal Small Projects Sustainability Prize. Earlier this year, the redevelopment also won the Adaptive Reuse Award at Âé¶¹´«Ã½ City Councils Lord Mayor’s Design Awards. Jack is Director of which led the £63k redesign of the 1960s building with funding support provided from Âé¶¹´«Ã½’s Institute for Creative Arts Practice. “It’s great to see the work that we did for The NewBridge Project recognised in awards at both a national and local level,” says Jack. “We worked with an extremely limited budget to transform an unused building, creating new spaces for both the artistic and broader community.” Image of The NewBridge Project by Topo Architects Part of the community Since The NewBridge Project moved into the premises in 2022, it has become a key part of the community, hosting a memory café for people with dementia, coffee mornings, a broad range of exhibitions, and has shown how creative enterprise can help revitalise an area. “The project sets a precedent for the redevelopment of seemingly low quality, vacant buildings; demonstrating that genuine cultural and social value can be delivered for a low cost,” adds Jack. The initial phases of the project, which were completed during 2022-2023, saw the creation of studios for more than 120 artists with workshops for ceramics, print and wood, a bookshop, events space, gallery, flexible workspaces and an office. Later stages of work have continued to further develop the spaces and work is now progressing on developing a dedicated space for the Youth Programme. Latest News Local knowledge can improve early warnings of glacial lake floods Local knowledge, improved evacuation preparedness and resilient mobile phone-based communication channels can enhance Early Warning Systems to reduce loss of life during glacial lake outburst floods. published on: 3 August 2026 Funding boost moves landmark cancer research centre a step closer A £1.25 million grant from the Wolfson Foundation to Âé¶¹´«Ã½ has brought the Sir Bobby Robson Institute a significant step closer, giving a major boost to its fundraising campaign. published on: 3 August 2026 Statement on potential unauthorised data access Information about a potential unauthorised data access. published on: 30 July 2026 Facts and figures