This redeemed castle is stunning, I could live here.
Creativity, renovation and conservation at its absolute
best. Beautifully detailed and crafted.
Kudos to architectural firm Witherford Watson Mann
for winning the 2013 RIBA Stirling Prize, an annual award
recognizing the best in British architecture, for their
refurbishment of the 12th Century Astley Castle
in Warwickshire, England.
The medieval walls remain standing, gashes and all.
The renewed detailed construction of brick, concrete
and wood sits entirely within the ancient footprint,
visually enriched by the Castle’s imperfect remains.
As the architects explain, “The house is animated by
slashes of sunlight on stone walls and views over the
ancient landscape. At the dining table, you look out
from twelfth and twenty-first century construction
to fifteenth and seventeenth century walls –
the dialogue across the centuries frames
conversations between friends.”
A deserved recognition indeed.