Bernat Klein Studio: Modernist masterpiece 'must be protected' as its goes up for auction for £18,000
The empty Grade-A listed building has been in a state of decline for more than 20 years.
The former studio of revered textile designer Bernat Klein has gone up for auction amid calls that the deteriorating “modernist masterpiece” must be protected and cared for.
The Bernat Klein Studio near Selkirk will go up for auction with a guide price of just £18,000, with the Grade-A listed property in a parlous state as it languishes on the Buildings at Risk register.
The studio was designed for Klein in 1972 by Peter Wormesley, his friend and internationally-renowned architect, and used as a workplace and exhibition space at the heart of the Borders textiles industry for 20 years.
It was at the studio that fabrics were created for Klein’s clients, such as Coco Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent.
READ MORE: Interview with textile designer Bernat Klein
Klein sold the building in 1992 and it was bought by an Edinburgh property developer 10 years later, but plans to convert the studio into two apartments never materialised with the building falling into disrepair.
The Bernat Klein Foundation and National Trust for Scotland announced last year that it hoped to bring the building into public use as a creative centre.
Now, Savills has announced the sale of the property at auction with a guide price of £18,000.
A joint statement from Bernat Klein Foundation, Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, and the National Trust for Scotland released today (Thursday) said: “The Bernat Klein Studio is a modernist masterpiece and must be protected and properly cared for
“ Together our organisations have been in discussions about its future over the past few years.
“We would very much like to see this important place restored and brought back into use. We are aware of the owner’s plan to auction the building and will watch developments closely.”
Bernat Klein was born in Serbia, where he trained in textiles, and served as a spy for the British intelligence services. He emigrated to the UK following World War Two before settling in The Borders. He died in 2014, aged 91.
His family home, the Grade-A listed High Sunderland, was also designed by Wormesley and sits in a wooded area close to the studio. It is considered one of the finest modernist homes in the UK.
The studio was built over two-storeys from brick, concrete and large frameless glazing. It had a service core of toilets, a kitchen and stairs surrounded by workspaces that were bathed in light.
Wormersley is said to have been inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in his vision for the designer’s workplace.
The studio won an RIBA award in 1973 for its design and exemplary use and combination of materials. It was also awarded the Edinburgh Architectural Association Centenary Medal.
An article on the Bernat Klein Foundation website said the studio now had “the air of dereliction that attracts both the interest of the architecturally curious and the disaffected.
“Most recently, evidence of vandalism and occasional unauthorized occupancy have confirmed this decline.”
A statement from Savills said that the studio had “further potential” and required modernisation.
It added: “Nestled beside the A707 near Selkirk, the Bernat Klein Studio is a striking piece of late Modernist architecture by Peter Womersley, built in 1972 as a creative hub for renowned textile designer Bernat Klein.
“Conceived as both a working studio and exhibition space, it celebrated the intersection of industrial craftsmanship and artistic vision.”
The studio will go up for auction on Wednesday, July 30 at 9am.
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