Other buildings recognised include schemes by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Tim Ronalds Architects, Artefact, Kaner Olette Architects and Liddicoat & Goldhill Sheerness Dockyard Church by Hugh Broughton ArchitectsSource: Dirk Lindner Hugh Broughton Architects' Sheerness Dockyard ChurchSource: Dirk Lindner 1/2 show caption The RIBA has announced the eight winners of the 2025 South East Awards, including residential, educational and cultural buildings across Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Among the winners is Sheerness Dockyard Church by Hugh Broughton Architects, which was also named RIBA South East Building of the Year. The project involved the restoration and adaptation of a Grade II* listed church damaged by fire in 2001, and was recognised by the jury for its transformation into a new community facility. It also received the Conservation Award and Project Architect of the Year. The jury noted that the scheme had been “exquisitely restored and transformed” and praised the design team for demonstrating that “a historic building in an extreme state of decay can have a very good future”. The Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios was awarded both a regional award and RIBA South East Client of the Year for Brighton and Hove city council. The project involved the careful reconfiguration of two listed performance venues to create new arts spaces in the city’s cultural quarter. Bury Gate Farm by Sandy Rendel ArchitectsSource: Ståle Eriksen The Spencer Building, by Tim Ronalds ArchitectsSource: Jim Stephenson Brighton Dome Corn Exchange & Studio TheatreSource: Richard Chivers Hastings House by Hugh Strange ArchitectsSource: Rory Gaylor Knepp Wilding Kitchen and Shop by Kaner Olette ArchitectsSource: Richard Chivers Triangle House by ArtefactSource: Lorenzo Zandri Sea, Sky House by Liddicoat & GoldhillSource: Sam Grady 1/7 show caption Other winners include Triangle House by Artefact, a small-scale extension to a 1950s home in Surrey, and Knepp Wilding Kitchen and Shop by Kaner Olette Architects, which adapted a set of farm buildings to serve a 3,500-acre rewilding estate in West Sussex. The Spencer Building, a new low-carbon timber school building by Tim Ronalds Architects, received an award for its efficient use of space and daylight. Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects, Sea, Sky House by Liddicoat & Goldhill, and Bury Gate Farm by Sandy Rendel Architects were all acknowledged for their residential design, materials handling and responses to their respective sites. In a statement, jury chair Lisa Shell said the region’s winning projects represented “a heartening direction in sustainable development within a region typically celebrated for new houses”, adding that “the majority involve the inventive re-use and conservation of existing structures”. Regional award winners will now be considered for a RIBA National Award, which will be announced on 10 July.  The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s building of the year will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects later in the year. >> Also read: AHMM’s Tower Hamlets Town Hall wins RIBA London Building of the Year >> Also read: Let Queen Elizabeth II’s memorial serve the whole nation #hugh #broughton #architects #sheerness #dockyard

The institute confirmed it had appointed the heritage specialist, ranked 10th in last year’s AJ100 league table, to deliver the RIBA Stage 4 design on the project to overhaul its 66 Portland Place base. In February, Benedetti Architects finally submitted its revamp plans for the Grade II*-listed, 91-year-old, George Grey Wornum-designed building to Westminster City Council, three years after winning the original competition. The RIBA said the 10-strong Clerkenwell-based practice would remain as design guardians on the project, which could take up to three years to complete.Advertisement Benedetti was selected for the job in 2022 following an RIBA-run competition. Also shortlisted were David Kohn Architects, Belfast-based Hall McKnight, Roz Barr Architects, a collaboration between Freehaus with Donald Insall Associates, IDKHugh Broughton Architects, and a joint bid between Feix&Merlin with Haptic Architects & Heritage Architecture. News of Purcell's appointment comes as RIBA resumes its search for a temporary home. Earlier this week, it emerged that a proposed move to the nearby Royal College of Physicians offices had collapsed. But despite this setback and the fact Benedetti Architects' plans have not yet been approved, the institute still plans to shut its café and bookshop at the end of this month and close its doors to all staff by 29 August. The building is set to reopen in 2028 following its full refurbishment – a project that aims to improve the 1930s building’s accessibility. Speaking about the decision to bring Purcell on to the team, RIBA chair of board Jack Pringle said: ‘At the competition stage, RIBA was pleased to open the project to all architectural practices, including SMEs, to maximise the creative talent pool available to the institute. ‘We were delighted to appoint Benedetti Architects to that role, fresh from their triumph at BAFTA. Now, for Stage 4, we are pleased to retain Benedetti as our design guardian and to bring in the powerful team of Purcell with their in-depth knowledge of the renovation of historic buildings – not least the Palace of Westminster, the National Gallery in collaboration with Selldorf Architects, and Auckland Castle where they collaborated with Niall McLaughlin Architects.’Advertisement According to its last accounts for the year ending April 2024, Purcell had a turnover of £26.4 million and a workforce of nearly 290 staff. The submitted Benedetti scheme includes replacing the revolving glass door on the main entrance with a more accessible entrance for blind visitors, as well as less steep wheelchair ramps and new steps. A separate entrance on Weymouth Street will be introduced for a new café – replacing the current bookshop – with pavement seating to encourage public use of the building.  The bookshop will relocate to be more ‘public-facing’ towards Portland Place on the north-west corner of the ground floor. The main exhibition space will move upstairs, with the existing ground-floor gallery untouched. Source:Benedetti/RIBA The introduction of larger lifts aims to provide universal access to all of the building’s 28 levels, many of which can only currently be reached by stairs. A ‘generously sized’ entrance to the library, matching original Wornum features inside the building, will further increase accessibility.  The refurbishment also addresses inefficiencies in the plumbing and electrical systems, removing fossil-fuel-dependent systems to meet the RIBA and Westminster City Council's climate targets. Heritage single-glazed windows will be largely retained, with secondary glazing introduced elsewhere. Other aspects include restoring the Jarvis Foyer, a 400-seat hospitality space, and more display space for architectural models and drawings. Meanwhile, banners originally proposed for the entrance have been dropped on the advice of Westminster Council following a consultation last summer.  66 Portland Place was built in 1934 and has had piecemeal upgrades throughout its history, most recently in 2019 with the addition of a Hayhurst & Co-designed learning centre and a Carmody Groarke-designed gallery. The RIBA has previously said it would look to fundraising and sponsorship to pay for the House of Architecture and that ‘the funding strategynot linked to member fees’. Meanwhile, the institute, having failed to secure temporary office space at the Royal College of Physicians in St Andrew’s Place, Regent’s Park, said it was now ‘exploring contingency plans to ensure suitable working arrangements for staff'. Source:Benedetti/RIBA Benedetti’s submitted RIBA House of Architecture refurbishment #purcell #brought #ribas #60m #house