Delight as cinema wins prestigious global award

The accolade was presented at the 59th Annual Civic Trust Awards, held on Friday (March 9) at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Depot was announced as one of two Selwyn Goldsmith Commendation winners in the international competition, alongside Shakespeare’s New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The award is presented to projects that demonstrate excellent design principles and is sponsored by Global Disability Innovation Hub.

Carmen Slijpen, creative director of Depot, said: “Depot has quickly become an important cultural and social community hub with a regional reach, and we are delighted that it has been recognised by the Civic Trust.

“Inclusivity and accessibility are the cornerstones of our ethos, and this global award reflects how those principles have been designed into the very fabric of our space.”

Depot was praised for ‘providing welcoming and accessible cultural and social facilities for visitors’. It was also noted for how it ‘engages with audiences and users of the facilities across the age and social spectrum, regardless of abilities’.

From 234 applications, 60 national and international projects were rewarded with a Civic Trust Award or Commendation.

The Civic Trust Awards aim to encourage the very best in architecture, to improve the built environment through design, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility, and to reward projects that offer a positive social, cultural, environmental or economic benefit to their local communities.

The Civic Trust Awards has run continuously since 1959, making it Europe’s longest running architectural and built environment awards programme. It is also one of this country’s most important and prestigious.