A new community hub in North Lanarkshire has secured a top design award after winning the public and cultural building prize at the national Mix Awards.
The Mix Awards celebrates the best of the interior design industry. Multidisciplinary design practice BDP was presented with the award for its work on Newmains & St Brigid’s Community Hub. Home to more than 600 children and staff, the project combined two schools and a family learning centre into one shared campus.
The building already claimed a Scottish Design Award in 2023 and the regional Mix award earlier this year.
BDP’s design created an array of teaching wings set around an open, central shared space. At the heart of the building is a multi-use area featuring Spanish steps and a helical slide that wraps around a figurative tree. There is also a reflection zone.
The new hub provides every classroom with direct access to the grounds, encouraging a healthy relationship between young people and the outdoors. External play spaces offer a range of sensory stimulating apparatus that include a treehouse, dens and play trails, while further plans include the creation of a wildlife habitat.
The outdoor areas features an 11-a-side sports pitch, and new paths to connect the hub with the community. A forest school has been planted with willow structures, an outdoor classroom, a fire pit and den building zone.
Each teaching wing and lower level space is constructed from structural timber framing, designed to reduce the building’s embodied carbon.
The campus also includes a dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) themed classroom, a breastfeeding area as part of the council’s initiative to encourage more mums to breastfeed, EV charging and bike storage to encourage active travel.
Lindsey Mitchell, architect director at BDP, said, “This is a building designed for the community, by the community. The vision was informed and developed through extensive consultation with pupils, staff, and the local community, so this award is for everyone who was involved!
“It’s amazing recognition for the creative, sustainable design of Newmain’s and St Bridgid’s Hub is fantastic. The project has always been about collaboration, and about creating a place for learning. That ethos really comes through and it’s so gratifying to see it being celebrated in this way.”
BDP led the wider design team, consisting of Wallace Whittle (mechanical and electrical design engineer) and Blyth and Blyth (consulting civil and structural design engineer).
