A 200-year-old former jute mill that was saved from collapse by becoming a museum has won a prestigious conservation award.

The recently refurbished High Mill at the Verdant Works in Dundee was one of the first jute mills built on the site in 1833.

Before its £2.9m renovation last year, the A-listed building had lain empty for decades and was on the buildings at risk register.

Historic Environment Scotland has now recognised Dundee Heritage Trust's efforts in transforming the derelict building into a huge new museum space.

The project was named the winner of the Special Category Award for Conservation and Climate Change at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Awards Dinner in Glasgow.

Presenting the award, David Mitchell, acting chief executive for Historic Environment Scotland said: "The High Mill, dating from 1833, was the unused part of the wider Category A-listed Verdant Works, a surviving Dundee mill complex incorporating Scotland's award-winning Jute Museum.

"Before the project started the High Mill and the adjacent glazed-roofed preparing room had deteriorated so badly they were facing collapse or demolition.

"We have been impressed by the trust's vision in saving this listed building and the project itself, which has been achieved for less than the cost of an equivalent new-build museum.

"The project has achieved a high standard museum space through good design and attention to detail whilst securing the future of a nationally important historic building.

"Historic Environment Scotland is proud to have supported the project financially alongside the Heritage Lottery Fund."

Gill Poulter, heritage director for Dundee Heritage Trust said: "In this Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design we are especially proud to receive this award as recognition of what our charity has accomplished in saving a stunning building and transforming it into a dramatic gallery space that is now full of life and activity.''

The project was praised for saving money on heating by using an insulated pod structure to keep it warm and utilising natural light.

Doug Reid, architect for the High Mill project, said: "We are thrilled to win the RIAS award for this project as we believe we have achieved something very special at Verdant Works.

"Our innovative architectural scheme to remove the rotten wooden floors has revealed the skeleton of the building and created a full height cathedral-like space.

"Modern interventions, such as the Red Box learning pod, have been sensitively designed to sit alongside the original industrial aesthetic with minimum intervention within the category A-listed building.''