Architect/ Designer: Brendan Phelan
Client/Developer: York Racecourse
Builder: Lindum York
This is one of the largest and certainly the most complex of the submitted projects. It is a combination of buildings and functional open spaces – purpose-designed to accommodate several of the most critical of the off-course activities of a race meeting – the jockeys’ changing and weighing-in rooms, the horses’ saddling boxes, specialised vet facilities, the pre-parade ring, the prize giving pavilion, TV camera position and the VIP lounge and restaurant. The overall layout, the buildings and the open spaces between them are elegant, practical and festive. The buildings are beautifully detailed in a contemporary vocabulary that is neither slavishly traditional not aggressively modern. The entire project was constructed between the end of last season’s racing and the beginning of this one – a period of less than six months – a remarkable achievement.