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Sheffield’s iconic ‘Rusty Box’ up for major design award

An iconic new student apartment development in Sheffield city centre has been nominated as the city’s best building at the Sheffield Design Awards.

The ‘Rusty Box’ building on West Street was created by award winning city design company Coda Studios, who took over the development of the site when it had been left no more than an abandoned steel frame structure on the busy stretch of main road, close to both the city centre and the University of Sheffield.

The £1.5 million project, which was taken forward in close consultation with city planners and a local developer, saw the creation of a striking 55 student apartment building for one of the city centre’s most popular thoroughfares, clad in distinctive weathered Cor-Ten steel, giving it the distinctive ‘Rusty Box’ look.

And now the structure has nominated for the top prize at the Sheffield Design Awards, delivered in partnership by Sheffield Civic Trust and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Yorkshire.

The Sheffield Design Awards are held every two years and are open to any project within the city’s boundary.

The 2014 winners will be announced at a presentation event at The Arts Tower, University of Sheffield on Friday, October 17.

“What we did was develop an entirely new building utilising the old steel frame and I believe we have created something that will one day be seen as one of West Street’s iconic structures,” said Coda Studios Managing Director David Cross.

“Equally importantly, this was a project that was completed using local contractors, developers and workers, generating work that genuinely boosted the local economy.

“We are up against some tough competition but we genuinely believe we have created something very special and iconic in the heart of Sheffield.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Highfield .