SYMPATHETIC efforts to transform a nuclear bomb-hardened operations room into a museum space has put a Wester Ross attraction in the running for an architectural award.

Gairloch Museum now occupies what was intended to be an Anti-Aircraft Operations Room (AAOR) – a concrete box inside a concrete box, built to withstand the effects of an H bomb.

And its use of the site has earned it a place among a 35-entry shortlist of construction projects in the RICS Social Impact Awards

RICS – the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors – will announce the Scottish winners in a ceremony on April 23, before the UK grand final is held later this year.

The contest rewards construction projects which help to transform communities and the everyday lives of people.

Gairloch Museum moved into its newly-converted base last year.

“This extraordinarily tough construction required care and ingenuity to achieve the user-needs and environmental conditions demanded by the collections,” said a spokesman for RICS Scotland. “The outcome delivers a precise plan with utility and drama to the fore. The exterior treatment respects the monolithic block of the AAOR. The interior was grit-blasted back to the original concrete.”

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The awards are divided into nine categories, and include the best examples of development in the commercial, education, healthcare, heritage, infrastructure, land & rural, leisure, residential and student accommodation sectors – with an overall winner also due to be announced.

Matthew Howell, RICS UK Managing Director said: “The real estate industry plays a vital role in Scotland, and our refreshed awards celebrates the positive impact that our professionals can have on people’s lives and the best of what is built.

“This year’s shortlist features some of the best talent in our profession, and the new Social Impact Awards recognises the significant value these projects have brought to the communities around them.

"The judges will have their work cut out deciding on who gets the top award with so many top projects involved."

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