Heelis, National Trust Headquarters Swindon

Heelis National Trust Headquarters Building, Swindon Property Design, Project News

Heelis England : National Trust Headquarters

National Trust HQ Development in Swindon, England design by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, UK

17 Aug 2009

Heelis National Trust HQ in Swindon

National Trust Headquarters, Swindon, Wiltshire

Design: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

RIBA Awards 2006

Another controversial news report re the Prince of Wales

Prince Charles threatened to resign as president of the National Trust unless it altered the design of its headquarters, it has been claimed by The Guardian newspaper on 17 Aug 2009.

The Prince’s latest interference in architectural design came in a row over a scheme by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios for the trust’s £14.5 million headquarters in Swindon. Prince Charles reportedly believed the proposal was not sustainable enough when he saw it at an early design stage.

The threat was made at a meeting at St James’s Palace between a senior aide of the prince and representatives from the charity, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper. It is understood that soon after he took over presidency of the charity from the Queen Mother (who died in 2002), he requested the power of approval over new architectural projects and asked for his advisers to scrutinise plans for the Swindon headquarters.

The Prince was later persuaded of the scheme’s merits and it was built – with more than 1,000 solar panels on the roof. The building was subsequently given a Breeam “excellent” rating.

The Guardian also reports that two firms of architects on 16 Aug 2009 separately claimed that their bid to design a new building for the Soil Association, whose patron is the Prince of Wales, ended when the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment intervened.

“The Prince’s Foundation let it be known that modernist architects were not what was required for this job,” said Rab Bennetts, director of Bennetts Associates, which failed to make the final shortlist.

“We were told we would not produce a scheme in line with the prince’s architectural aspirations,” said Peter Clegg, a director of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, which also failed to make the final cut, but is now bidding again for the Bristol job which had been put on hold.

National Trust Headquarters Swindon information from Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

National Trust Headquarters design : Feilden Clegg Bradley

Location: Swindon, Wiltshire, southern England, UK

Architecture in England

Contemporary Architecture in England

Another Design by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios in England:

New headquarters for the Woodland Trust, Grantham, Lincolnshire
2009-
Woodland Trust Headquarters Grantham Building
photo © Peter Cook
Woodland Trust headquarters

English Houses

English Architect

National Memorial Arboretum

Wiltshire Buildings

Wiltshire Building Designs

Wiltshire Buildings

Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre
Design: Purcell architects
Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre
image from architect
Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre Building – 19 Feb 2016

Salisbury Playhouse Building
Design: Tim Foster Architects
Salisbury Playhouse
image from architect
Salisbury Playhouse Building

Wellington Academy, Tidworth
Design: BDP
Wellington Academy
image from architect
Wellington Academy Building in Wiltshire

Salisbury Market Place Design
Design: Letts Wheeler Architects
Salisbury Market Place
image from architect
Salisbury Market Place Architecture Competition

English Architecture

English Architecture Design – chronological list

Wiltshire Architecture Selection

The Triangle
Design: Glenn Howells Architects
The Triangle Swindon
photos : Paul Raftery
Swindon Housing

Holy Cross Primary School Building, Swindon
Design: Cullinan Studio
Holy Cross Primary School Swindon Building
photograph of building
Holy Cross Building in Swindon – 10 Aug 2016

British Postal Museum and Archive
Design: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
British Postal Museum & Archive Swindon
image © architects
British Postal Museum and Archive in Swindon

Comments / photos for the Heelis EnglandNational Trust Headquarters Swindon Architecture page welcome