Development by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios in England, UK
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Heelis - National Trust Headquarters, Swindon, Wiltshire
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Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
RIBA Awards 2006
Another controversial news report re the Prince of Wales
Prince Charles threatened to resign as president of the National Trust unless it altered the design of its headquarters, it has been claimed by The Guardian newspaper on 17 Aug 2009.
The Prince's latest interference in architectural design came in a row over a scheme by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios for the trust’s £14.5 million headquarters in Swindon. Prince Charles reportedly believed the proposal was not sustainable enough when he saw it at an early design stage.
The threat was made at a meeting at St James’s Palace between a senior aide of the prince and representatives from the charity, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper. It is understood that soon after he took over presidency of the charity from the Queen Mother (who died in 2002), he requested the power of approval over new architectural projects and asked for his advisers to scrutinise plans for the Swindon headquarters.
The Prince was later persuaded of the scheme’s merits and it was built – with more than 1,000 solar panels on the roof. The building was subsequently given a Breeam "excellent" rating.
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
The Guardian also reports that two firms of architects on 16 Aug 2009 separately claimed that their bid to design a new building for the Soil Association, whose patron is the Prince of Wales, ended when the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment intervened.
"The Prince's Foundation let it be known that modernist architects were not what was required for this job," said Rab Bennetts, director of Bennetts Associates, which failed to make the final shortlist.
"We were told we would not produce a scheme in line with the prince's architectural aspirations," said Peter Clegg, a director of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, which also failed to make the final cut, but is now bidding again for the Bristol job which had been put on hold.
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios in England:
New headquarters for the Woodland Trust, Grantham, Lincolnshire
2009-
Woodland Trust headquarters
English Houses
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