The Canterbury Society Design Awards recognise and celebrate the buildings, spaces and places that are of value to our community. Commenting on the award, Mark Hosea, Project Director of The Canterbury Journey, said “It is with immense pleasure and pride that Canterbury Cathedral’s new Visitor Centre received a ‘Commended’ from The Canterbury Society in their 2021 Design Awards for a New Building in a Conservation Area. The benefits of the exciting new Visitor Centre, with all it has to offer in terms of ticketing, shop, viewing gallery, interpretation and exhibitions will hopefully be enjoyed not just by all those visiting the Cathedral, but by all those visiting Canterbury itself.”
“This was a very complicated building to integrate into such a historic setting as part of a World Heritage Site, so it is great to receive such positive recognition of that from The Canterbury Society. We look forward to welcoming all to enjoy the building and all that it has to offer!”.
On learning of the award, the Centre’s architect, Hamish McMichael, said “We are delighted that the design of the new Visitor Centre at Canterbury Cathedral has been recognised by The Canterbury Society’s Design Awards. This was a challenging location in which to design a new structure, stitched into the historic context of the precincts and the Burgate properties, adjacent to the Christ Church Gate. We took references from the location to design a modern structure that seeks to blend into the background of the setting, however, we sought to create a unique sequence of contemporary interiors, to bring a new identity to the welcome and interpretation spaces. The success of the project is a testament to the hard work of the entire Canterbury Journey team.”
