AN exciting new building housing the animal care section of Huddersfield Technical College has been commended in regional architecture awards.

The £1.8m structure, at Close Hill Lane, Newsome, opened in September at the start of the new academic year.

The School of Caring features a glass front, drystone walling, cedarwood cladding and will ultimately have a grass roof.

Rainwater is collected and used for flushing toilets and it has a turbine to generate its own electricity.

It is a base for health studies for around 200 students.

Subjects include animal care and there is accommodation for a wide range of animals ranging from ferrets to fish. Some are accepted from Heathrow Airport, where they have been impounded after being smuggled in from abroad.

Students on animal care courses can go on to work in zoos or for vets.

Architects, the Walton Horsfall Partnership, of Shepley, and representatives of the college and builders, will be invited to the White Rose Awards ceremony, hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects, in Sheffield, in November.

Mrs June Durrant, head of the School of Caring said: "We are thrilled. It's a lovely recognition of all the hard work which has gone into the building."

Alan Weldon, building and estates manager said: "I think it's a wonderful building. It is very innovative."

The citation from RIBA said: "The school of caring is an example of environmentally aware design producing an attractive, delightful place to learn and teach. The organisation of the building is clear and works well."

The building was paid for with the help of the European Regional Development fund and the Learning and Skills Council. Forty entries were submitted from across Yorkshire and the Humber and 15 were shortlisted.