Described by judges as “an impressive industrial building” and “beautifully sculpted”, the facility near Wick was one of a range of new designs that won praise from both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. The awards were announced at an event in Glasgow last week.

Nucleus (The Nuclear and Caithness Archives) was among 49 RIBA winners, selected from more than 600 UK entries, and one of 12 Scottish RIAS winners.

Designed by Edinburgh-based Reiach and Hall Architects, it will now be a contender for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award later this year, which is supported by the Doolan family and the Scottish Government, which will be named in in November.

Simon Tucker, the NDA’s Head of Information Governance, said:

We are absolutely delighted that Nucleus has been named as one of the best buildings in the UK. Visually, it is extremely striking, and is also a fantastic operational facility, purpose-built for the preservation and storage of our nuclear records, as well as those from Caithness.

The judges’ citation:

The judges unanimously felt that this was an impressive industrial building which created an ethereal and beautifully sculpted building. Security issues in the design of the landscape did not detract from the panel’s view that this was an excellent building. The relationship of the building to the historic context of the site and the adjacent wartime airfield are beautifully articulated, together with the references to the Caithness context of lochs and a difficult climate.

The unique £20 million facility opened last year and is now in the process of receiving records, photographs, plans and other data from NDA sites all over the UK. It already stores local historical archives associated with Caithness.

The material is stored in a series of secure pods and much of it will gradually be converted to digital format.

An exercise that will last at least 5 years is now under way to collect, assess and sift through many thousands of nuclear documents before transfer to the archive. These include plans, photographs, drawings and other records from diverse locations around the UK.

Nucleus also fulfils an important role for the future geological disposal facility (GDF), acting as a central repository for detailed waste records that must be safeguarded for many generations.

Read more about the archive.

A summer storm flooded homes and businesses across the south west, thousands were driven from their homes and tragically a number of lives were lost.

The Environment Agency, together with the Sid Vale Association will commemorate the floods of July 1968 with a free exhibition of historic flood photographs and maps. They are inviting residents and visitors to come along and share their experiences or to simply view the photographs on display.

Date: 7 and 8 July 2018

Opening times: 10.30am to 4pm

Location:

Chris Khan, Flood Risk Officer at the Environment Agency, said

This is one of the biggest floods we have recorded in Devon. Many communities that we work with were affected. We would like as many people as possible to come along, whether they are a local resident or on holiday. We would love visitors to share memories and bring any photographs they have.

The impacts of the flood were immense; bridges collapsed causing roads to close. Sidmouth, Colyton, Honiton, Newton Poppleford, East Budleigh and Ottery St Mary all had significant flood damage whilst The Otterhead reservoir was completely washed away.

A lot has changed since 1968; similar storms still occur but people and businesses are better protected than ever before. In the last 10 years the Government has invested more than £6.1 billion in flood risk management work including many flood alleviation schemes across the south west.

There are also tools to help you reduce your own risk of flooding. The Environment Agency send targeted flood warnings to over a million people in England – giving them vital time to prepare for flooding. You can sign up for free flood warnings online or by ringing 0345 988 1188.

A summer storm flooded homes and businesses across the south west, thousands were driven from their homes and tragically a number of lives were lost.

The Environment Agency, together with the Sid Vale Association will commemorate the floods of July 1968 with a free exhibition of historic flood photographs and maps. They are inviting residents and visitors to come along and share their experiences or to simply view the photographs on display.

Date: 7 and 8 July 2018

Opening times: 10.30am to 4pm

Location:

Chris Khan, Flood Risk Officer at the Environment Agency, said

This is one of the biggest floods we have recorded in Devon. Many communities that we work with were affected. We would like as many people as possible to come along, whether they are a local resident or on holiday. We would love visitors to share memories and bring any photographs they have.

The impacts of the flood were immense; bridges collapsed causing roads to close. Sidmouth, Colyton, Honiton, Newton Poppleford, East Budleigh and Ottery St Mary all had significant flood damage whilst The Otterhead reservoir was completely washed away.

A lot has changed since 1968; similar storms still occur but people and businesses are better protected than ever before. In the last 10 years the Government has invested more than £6.1 billion in flood risk management work including many flood alleviation schemes across the south west.

There are also tools to help you reduce your own risk of flooding. The Environment Agency send targeted flood warnings to over a million people in England – giving them vital time to prepare for flooding. You can sign up for free flood warnings online or by ringing 0345 988 1188.