Ever on the up
PRIZE FOR NEW BATTLE OF BRITAIN BUNKER IS A FITTING TRIBUTE ON RAF’S 1OOTH ANNIVERSARY
IT ONLY opened in March but already Hillingdon’s Battle of Britain Bunker visitor centre has won a regional prize and is now in the final for a national award.
The £6million exhibition centre for visitors to the Uxbridge site, embraces the themes of planes and flight, reflected in its outstanding design.
Hillingdon’ s Building Control team who managed the project alongside consultants Faithful & Gould, Pattern Architects and contractor volkerfitzpatrick, won the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Awards, Best Public Service Building prize on Friday May 11.
According to the judges, the new building, with its steel-framed and unique shape, “pays fitting tribute to the RAF on its 100th anniversary.”
The centre will now go forward to the national final of Best Public Service Building which will be held in November.
Hillingdon Council became custodians of the Battle of Britain Bunker in 2016, taking over responsibility from the Ministry of Defence.
The design of the Battle of Britain Bunker visitor centre is inspired by planes and flight
The council secured £1 million in government funding to carry out essential repairs to the original bunker, which played a crucial role in the Battle of Britain in 1940, and also invested £6 million itself in the new Exhibition and Visitor Centre, to recognise this important part of the borough’s heritage.
The Battle of Britain Bunker, and those who staffed it, played a crucial role in the air defence of the United Kingdom throughout the Second World War and the new visitor centre tells the story for the first time through an interactive exhibition.
Leader of Hillingdon Council, Cllr Ray Puddifoot, said: “The council is extremely pleased to have won this accolade and be shortlisted once again for a national LABC Award.
“The Battle of Britain Bunker Exhibition and Visitor Centre is an amazing building in both design and content, and it has been a real achievement to see it open in just two years after taking over responsibility for it from the Ministry of Defence.”
He added: “We wanted to ensure this national heritage site remains open for generations to come to visit and learn about the bunker’s pivotal role in the Second World War.
“Judging from the comments we’ve received so far, it’s proving popular with residents and visitors alike.”
Judges said the centre was a fitting tribute to the RAF in its centenary year.