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Plans lodged to protect A-listed former design studio

Giancarlo RinaldiSouth Scotland reporter
SHBT A brutalist studio in the Borders made of cement and glass which is in severe decay with windows boarded upSHBT
The property has suffered from years of decay and vandalism

Plans have been lodged to protect the dilapidated Borders studio of textile designer Bernat Klein from further damage after "two decades of neglect and vandalism".

A consortium of heritage and design organisations received the keys for the site near Selkirk last year after securing it at auction.

Full restoration of the building originally designed by brutalist architect Peter Womersely is expected to cost more than £3m.

Plans for the first stage of stabilisation work have now been submitted to Scottish Borders Council (SBC).

Getty Images A black and white image of a man in a with dark hair in a dark suit with a tie who is gesticulating with shelves and seats behind himGetty Images
The studio was built for Bernat Klein in 1972

The Bernat Klein Studio Coalition - made up of the Bernat Klein Foundation (BKF), the National Trust for Scotland and the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust - was set up to save the building from ruin.

The first phase of work will aim to secure the property, which has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 2002 and is in a severely dilapidated state.

Once completed, the coalition plans to return The Studio to its original use as a design studio.

It will also provide a permanent base in the Borders for the BKF and its exhibitions, workshops and talks.

SHBT Another view of the dilapidated Bernat Klein studio in the BordersSHBT
It is hoped the studio can be brought back into use

A supporting statement to SBC seeking listed building consent outlines the reasons for the stabilisation and investigation work.

"The studio is in significant disrepair following two decades of neglect and vandalism," it said.

The initial work aims to:

  • understand the condition of the building
  • stabilise the property to avoid further deterioration
  • set up a programme of investigation and monitoring of issues affecting the studio
  • appoint a design team to develop full restoration plans

As part of the stabilisation efforts, temporary boarding to damaged windows will be improved or replaced to cut the risk of "unauthorised entry".

Items which are identified as not being part of the original building will also be removed.

Another priority will be to stop water getting into the property.

"Condition survey reports to date have been unable to accurately confirm the causes and extent of longstanding defects - primarily penetrating damp - that have impacted the building since the 1970s," the statement added.

"Consequently, and despite serveral well intended attempts by previous owners, penetrating damp continues to negatively affect the fabric and structure of the building which is a threat to its significance."

Klein, who died in 2014, collaborated with major European fashion houses such as Dior to design some of the most beautiful textiles of the 20th Century.

His studio was built as a workspace for design, weaving and exhibiting samples.

It lies adjacent to his home, High Sunderland, which was built by Womersley in 1958 and is also a listed building.