Old School House highly commended at Building Excellence Awards

The awards are the largest business to business awards in the building control sector in the UK, and the Old School House in Washington was highly commended in the Best Small Social Housing Development category. 

The awards recognised the scheme, which restored and extended the former Biddick School to create 15 specialist apartments for vulnerable adults.

The new apartments were completed by JDDK Architects and Brims Construction after being developed by the council's Housing Development Team as part of plans to deliver more homes for the residents most at need in the city. Under these plans, the city council is providing much-needed homes and one-storey accommodation for people living with disabilities as well as older residents.

All apartments at the Old School House benefit from a high-quality specification developed with the end user in mind and the development boasts a landscaped courtyard for residents to enjoy, including seating designed by a local artist. 

Councillor Kevin Johnston, Sunderland City Council's Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and Business, said: "We're absolutely delighted to have been highly commended for the housing scheme at Washington Old School.  

"These homes have been specially designed to meet the needs of vulnerable adults, so we're delighted that the Old School House is making such a positive difference to residents' lives and that this has been recognised.

"This scheme sits beautifully alongside a community of homes that we developed as a local authority in 2021. It is just the latest project we have carried out to ensure the city benefits from a wider range of properties to support the needs of vulnerable residents and those living with disabilities."

JDDK Architects put the project forward for the award. Speaking about the work that went into the scheme, JDDK's Associate Director Matthew Holmes said: "Working on this scheme was a challenge but the results speak for themselves, and this is down to the great team that worked together throughout the project."