The Bernat Klein Foundation (BKF), the National Trust for Scotland and Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT), supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, paid significantly over the auction asking price of just £18,000 to buy the Category A-listed studio block in the Scottish Borders.
The three-floor building, where textile designer Bernat Klein (1922-2014) created fabrics worn by Coco Chanel and Jean Shrimpton, went under the hammer yesterday (30 July).
The collective, which has come together under the Bernat Klein Studio Coalition banner, estimates the full cost of its restoration could reach £3 million, describing its condition as ‘severely dilapidated’.
A 2023 survey commissioned by Scottish Borders Council uncovered ‘significant and myriad issues’ from its prolonged vacancy, water damage, deterioration and acts of vandalism.
In the same year, Matt Loader at Loader Montieth – architects the Bernat Klein Foundation has worked with in recent years to inform possible future plans for the studio – drew up plans to transform the building into a visitor attraction.
The coalition wants to bring the building back into public and community use, returning the building to its original use as a design studio, creating a permanent base in the Scottish Borders for the Bernat Klein Foundation and providing a programme of exhibitions, workshops and talks.
The coalition’s auction was bolstered by a crowdfunding campaign which raised more than £33,000 within a week as well as philanthropic pledges from other anonymous private individuals and organisations including the Path Trust and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Forth & Borders group.
Following the auction, Alison Harley, chair of trustees at the Bernat Klein Foundation, said ‘after many years, the future for Klein’s Studio looks very bright. We would like to thank everyone who has supported our efforts so far and we look forward to sharing plans and progress over the months ahead.’
Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, whose previous projects include Riddle’s Court with LDN Architects on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, will oversee the delivery of a repair and restoration project, working with the National Trust for Scotland and a range of conservation and architectural specialists.
The first stage includes urgent repairs to stabilise the building and to its flat roof.
Designs for the full restoration to a studio will be developed over the next year and its is understood the coalition will look to appoint an architect in the near future.
The group said it had received support and advice from across the sector for this campaign including from the Architectural Heritage Fund, Preserving Womersley, The Twentieth Century Society and the William Grant Foundation.
Concept drawing of Bernat Klein Studio as a visitor attraction by Matt Loader of Loader Monteith Architects (2023)