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New owners get keys for Bernat Klein studio near Selkirk

A consortium of Scottish heritage and loteria federal 2146design organisations has been given the keys to the dilapidated Borders studio of renowned textile designer Bernat Klein.

The site near Selkirk sold at auction for ￡279,000 - more than 15 times its guide price - earlier this summer.

The group that bought it has now formally taken possession of the concrete and brick structure designed by Peter Womersley - considered to be one of the greatest brutalist architects to have worked in Scotland.

Full restoration - which would see the property used as a design studio once again - has been estimated to cost more than ￡3m.

The Bernat Klein Studio Coalition, made up of the Bernat Klein Foundation (BKF) , the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) and the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT), received significant support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

The first phase of work will be to secure the property which has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 2002 and is in a severely dilapidated state.

That is being supported by the NLHF and the Architectural Heritage Fund Scotland.

Of particular concern is the condition of the building's concrete cladding, an important element of Womersley's 1972 design which will require careful assessment to understand and conserve.

Once completed, it is intended that The Studio will return to its original use as a design studio.

It will also provide a permanent base in the Borders for the BKF and its exhibitions, workshops and talks.

Its chair of trustees, Prof Alison Harley, said these were "exciting times" for the organisation.

"Our new partnership will be focusing on the entwined legacies of Bernat Klein and Peter Womersley and this unique opportunity for the creative industries," she said.

"In this next important stage of the project, the BKF will continue to support new creative output through its public programme inspired by Klein's creative and cultural legacy."

NTS chief executive Philip Long said the trust had been working for years to save the building.

"The modernist creation is so important, both for its architectural design and the rich heritage it represents as part of Scotland's world-renowned creativity in textiles, and we are proud to support its restoration to safeguard its future," he added.

SHBT director Dr Samuel Gallacher described it as a "seminal project".

"The scale of the repair and restoration required at Peter Womersley's Bernat Klein Studio is extensive and will take many months, the skills of specialists and the support of the many people who have an interest in both Peter Womersley and Bernat Klein's work," he said.

Klein, who died in 2014, collaborated with major European fashion houses such as Dior to design some of the most beautiful textiles of the 20th Century.

His studio was built as a workspace for design, weaving and exhibiting samples.

It lies adjacent to his home, High Sunderland, built by Womersley in 1958 and also a listed building.

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