Over £28,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will enable the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design (SCA+D) to profile 5 buildings of historical interest to create the programme.

The project, Take One Building, will provide material for national curriculum key stages 1-3 for local schools and has been inspired by a similar national programme developed by the National Gallery called Take One Picture. This is a very successful national programme which sees tens of thousands of young people across the UK taking a different painting as a stimulus for learning across the curriculum each year.

The project represents architectural styles through the centuries, two of which have also been restored / built with HLF funding:

• The grade II listed Victorian New Theatre Royal (HLF Funded) dating back to 1845.
• The Grade II listed Chichester Festival Theatre, opened in 1962.
• The modern £15m Sea City Museum (HLF Funded) currently being built with the conversion of the Magistrates Court designed in the 1930’s.
• The rare Winchester City Mill, rebuilt on a medieval mill site in 1743.
• Heritage rich and Saxon named Lyndhurst High Street abundant in architectural and social heritage.

Volunteers and community groups will help carry out research, collecting architectural details, maps, drawings and capturing audio and video anecdotes to create a website and run workshops as part of the development of the education programme. 150 school children from 5 primary schools will participate, attending workshops to test and help refine the education material. They will also visit the buildings to experience the architectural wonder for themselves.

Stuart McLeod, Head of HLF South East, said: “Take One Building is a very exciting project that draws inspiration from some particularly successful national programmes. Although targeted primarily at school children, the outcome will provide excellent heritage and people benefits, establishing a detailed information resource, whilst also raising the profile of some of our most interesting heritage attractions.

For the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design, Mark Drury, said: “Take One Building will provide a fantastic opportunity to introduce young people to the rich and fascinating built environment readily accessible all around them. It will generate new audiences for some of southern England’s most interesting architectural heritage. There’s been tremendous interest in this programme and longer term I hope this will lead to a national Take One Building offer.”

Ali Mawle from the National Gallery, added: “Take One Picture has resulted in many thousands of children engaging with Old Master paintings and finding that they have both meaning and relevance today. Some of the most successful projects have been where schools have found some connection between the National Gallery painting and their local context. This is the beauty of the Take One Building project: it will provide access to rich and relevant contexts for learning within a local community.”
 
The project will run for a period of around 12 months and will leave the frame work for the addition of further buildings to the website. A heritage open day will also be held at each building/location to enable a broader range of local clubs, historical societies and other groups to attend and share their knowledge of the buildings.

Notes to editors

New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth - This grade II listed Victorian building has recently been awarded a £60,000 HLF development grant and is one of the very few theatres designed by celebrated Victorian architects, first CJ Phipps then redesigned by Frank Matcham. The theatre dates back to 1854 and was redesigned due fire and Vandalism.

Sea City Museum, Civic Buildings, Southampton – A new design being built by Southampton City Council with an HLF grant of £4.6m towards the build. It is being created with the conversion of the Magistrates’ Court, a grade II listed building with local, regional and national significance, designed by Ernest Berry Webber in the 1930’s.

Chichester Festival Theatre – This is considered a ground breaking structure designed by Powell and Moya and opened in 1962, and was the first modern building to have an open ‘thrust’ stage with the audience seated around it on three sides. The theatre is considered to be one of the UK’s flagship theatres and has built an international reputation for theatrical excellence.

Winchester Mill – Built on a medieval site it remained in use until early 20th century and is considered a rare surviving example of an urban working corn mill powered by the fast flowing River Itchen. It is now owned by the National Trust who recently undertook a restoration project and the mill resumed grinding flour in 2004.

Lyndhurst High Street, New Forest – Dating back to 980 New Forest was designated a royal hunting ground. The oldest building is the ancient Court of Verderers attached to the Queen’s House at the west end of the High street. The street is considered to be a feast of architectural and social heritage which attracts groups of students exploring the heritage and demographics as part of their studies.

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK, including £428million to projects in the South East alone.

Solent Centre for Architecture and Design – (SCA+D)
Over the last six years SCA+D (A not for profit regional architecture centre) has built an impressive reputation for developing innovative and engaging ways to encourage and explore quality architecture and designed environments.  One of 20 Architecture Centres in the UK, it has moved swiftly to establish itself as a key player in the national network, in particular becoming recognised as a leader in the field of built environment education. www.solentcentre.org.uk

About Take One Picture at the National Gallery
Each year the Take One Picture scheme invites UK primary schools to use a painting from the National Gallery Collection as a stimulus for learning across the curriculum. There is an exhibition each year showcasing some of the most imaginative work produced by schools taking part in the scheme at the National Gallery, demonstrating how school children have responded creatively to the featured National Gallery painting.

It has been suggested that cultural learning should be an entitlement for all, and has confirmed that the making of meaningful cross-curricular links and the implementation of a flexible, personalised and creative curriculum are fundamental to a child’s development. These core values underpin the Take One Picture programme. www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Further information

Robert Smith, HLF Press Office on 020 7591 6245 or roberts@hlf.org.uk

Mark Drury, Solent Centre for Architecture + Design on 023 8028 3053 or mark@solentcentre.org.uk