Johnstone Town Hall wins prestigious national award

Johnstone’s £14.5m town hall has won a coveted national award designed to honour Scotland’s best buildings.

The town hall was given the top honour of Project of the Year at the 2016 Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Awards, held in Edinburgh yesterday.

In doing so it beat off competition from recognised landmarks such as Falkirk’s Helix and Kelpies, and Glasgow’s Theatre Royal.

The striking glass-fronted building changed the face of Johnstone over the past two years and was opened to the public by Renfrewshire Council last March.

It was designed around an internal ‘high street’ theme and is home to modern community facilities including a library, theatre/conference space, ceremony suite, coffee shop, meeting spaces and a dance studio.

The town hall also offers many council services under one roof, including a customer service centre, offices for housing and social work staff, and AdviceWorks. Police Scotland and Macmillan Cancer Support are also based in the building.

The building was designed to reflect Johnstone’s industrial heritage and contains specially-commissioned artwork. The design was informed by consultation with local resident groups.

The town hall was designed by Renfrewshire Council and Holmes Miller and built by BAM Construction for clients Hub West Scotland and the council.

Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall said: “We are thrilled that Johnstone Town Hall has once again been recognised in this way – the latest in a series of awards it has received since opening last year.

“The building was built for the people of Johnstone and the surrounding villages and it has been great to see it being so well used over the past year or so.

“It is a modern facility which also reflects the town’s past – we hope and expect it will remain a hub for life in the town for generations to come.”

Johnstone Town Hall is managed by Renfrewshire Leisure Limited and is available for hire for a wide range of events and activities, including weddings, meetings and conferencing, social events and performances.

Further information can be found at www.renfrewshireleisure.com or by calling 0300 300 1210.