The Piece Hall has won the Academy of Urbanism Great Place Award

The Piece Hall in Halifax has won the 'Great Place' award at the Urban Academy Awards.

The Piece Hall transformation project restored the 238-year-old building into a multi-use commercial, cultural and heritage destination.

At the heart of the Piece Hall is the central courtyard, reinvented into an attractive, open and accessible public space. Gillespies re-designed the courtyard in consultation with Historic England and Calderdale Council's conservation planners, adding bespoke street furniture, lighting, feature steps and water features. We also improved the three existing gateways and created a fourth which links the town centre, the railway station, and the new library. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the historic building was carefully conserved by LDN Architects with Buro Happold Engineers.

Francis Newton, Great Place Lead Assessor, said: “The Piece Hall regeneration project has harnessed a unique and underutilised asset ... to meet modern aspirations and expectations. The resulting mix of uses, vitality and vibrancy which has been achieved offers important messages for town centres elsewhere.”

Thank you to the Gillespies team on the project: Jim Gibson, Warren Chapman and Jon Freeman.

The project has won a series of awards, including the RIBA Yorkshire Building of the Year award, the RICS Yorkshire and Humber award for Best Project, and the Historic England Angel Award. The other finalists in the Urbanism award for 'Great Place' were Brooke Park, Derry and Colquhoun Square, Helensburgh.

Read more about the Piece Hall on Calderdale Council's website.