AN ARCHIVE building in Hereford, which is the first of its type in the UK, has won an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The Herefordshire Archive & Records Centre (HARC) in Fir Tree Lane in Rotherwas won a RIBA West Midlands Regional Award.

RIBA identified the new facility as “the first archive building to be designed and built to the new guidance on the storage and exhibition of archival materials.

"The guidance includes the need to reconcile the long-term preservation of collections with the need to reduce energy used."

It is the first Passivhaus archive building in the UK with claimed operational savings of around 80 percent.

RIBA added: "The new building, which falls within the Hereford Enterprise Zone, performs an important function of ‘raising the bar’ for architectural design within the zone, not only visually, but in terms of sustainability aspirations.”

Herefordshire Council worked with consultants EC Harris, contractors Kier Construction and architects Architype to design the new facility, which will be open to the public on August 4.

Mark Barry, project architect and director of Architype, said: “It’s fantastic to see this pioneering project receiving such accolades and peer recognition.

"The strong vision and commitment of the client, design team and contractor has led to the delivery of a building that is continuing to have a great impact in the architectural and archival sectors.”

Herefordshire now has the most up-to-date records centre in the UK.

The new centre offers a range of social and community outreach programmes, a dedicated educational room and improved facilities and access for the public.

It also brings the archive, the county’s archaeology unit, the historic environment record, and the biological records centre together in one building, allowing people access to all these records in one place.