The Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) has launched the search for a conservation design team to lead the restoration of the Bernat Klein Studio, the Category A-listed modernist building near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders.
The Contract Notice is published on Public Contracts Scotland with a submission deadline of noon on Friday, September 11.
The appointed team will develop designs for the full restoration of the building, which is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of modernist architecture in Scotland.
Designed in 1972 by modernist architect Peter Womersley, with a design influenced by the work of Mies van der Rohe, Bernat Klein Studio was built as a creative hub for Bernat Klein, a key figure in Modernist design and one of the 20th century’s most celebrated textile designers.
Klein based his textile manufacturing business in the Scottish Borders and became internationally renowned, creating fabrics for fashion houses including Dior, Chanel and Balenciaga.
At the peak of his popularity, his Borders mill employed 600 people, and his fingerprints were on everything from skeins of yarn sold in high street wool shops – to be knitted at home according to patterns designed by his designer wife, Margaret – to sewing patterns, upholstery fabrics and colourful rugs, to ready-to-wear fashion.
Conceived as a workspace for design, weaving, exhibiting samples and business meetings, the Studio celebrated the intersection of industrial craftsmanship and artistic vision.
It won a RIBA award in 1973 for its design and exemplary use and combination of the materials of concrete, brick, steel and glass. It was also awarded the Edinburgh Architectural Association Centenary Medal.
In July 2025, Scottish Historic Buildings Trust joined forces with National Trust for Scotland and the Bernat Klein Foundation in a coalition bid to save the Studio for the nation.
Dr Samuel Gallacher, Director of SHBT, said: "The Bernat Klein Studio is one of the most significant buildings of its era in Scotland, and this appointment of a design team is the point at which we progress from rescue to restoration.
“Indeed, this is a seminal project for SHBT, a new approach to conserving modernist architecture. We are looking for a team with the skill and imagination to bring a remarkable building back into use, and to do justice to the legacies of both Bernat Klein and Peter Womersley."
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The restoration of the Studio is being led by SHBT in partnership with the National Trust for Scotland and the Bernat Klein Foundation. The three organisations came together as the Bernat Klein Studio Coalition in July 2025, securing ownership of the Studio at public auction after a high-profile crowdfunding campaign that raised over £33,000 in just over a week, along with the financial backing of the National Trust for Scotland.
The procurement process to select the design team is being supported by The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
Tamsie Thomson, Chief Executive of RIAS, said: "Following the inspiring, community-led campaign to save the Studio from decades of neglect, this tender represents a call to action for outstanding design teams. RIAS welcomes the opportunity to support the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, the Bernat Klein Foundation and the National Trust for Scotland in bringing forward a high-quality restoration that respects the original architecture while creating an inspiring permanent home for the Bernat Klein Foundation. We eagerly anticipate the visionary concepts this process will bring forward."
The first phase of the project to restore the Studio is being supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund alongside a range of other funders, including the Architectural Heritage Fund, Pilgrim Trust, Path Fund, William Grant Foundation and Scottish Borders Council.
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