Only one North West project lands RIBA National Award

Feilden Fowles’ The Fratry in Carlisle was the only North West project to win a Royal Institute of British Architects national prize. More than half of the winning projects were based in London and the South.

Notably absent from the winners’ list was RHS Garden Bridgewater’s Welcome Building, which had won the North West Building of the Year award earlier this year.

In addition to claiming a national award, The Fratry had also won a RIBA North West Award. It was one of six projects to do so.

The Fratry by Feilden Fowles. Credit: Peter Cook

In restoring Carlisle Cathedral’s The Fratry, London-based architect Feilden Fowles turned the historic building into a community space and cafe. The project earned praise from the jury of the RIBA North West Award for its craftsmanship.

The jury wrote: “The Fratry is a lesson in materiality and innovation where the architect has embraced the role of master builder; teasing the brief into a delightful solution. Every detail has been interrogated and every pound maximised.

“The architect has led the team to achieve the best quality possible within budget and has ensured lessons in the approach of past craftspeople live on.”

The project team behind The Fratry included Cubby Construction as the main contractor, Structure Workshop as the structural engineer, and Frank Whittel Partnership as project manager.

Bob Costello Associates was the environmental and M&E engineer. Stand Engineers was the conservation structural engineer and Buttress was the surveyor of the fabric.

There were 29 projects that won a RIBA National Award. Of those, 20 were from the London, South, South East, and South West regional winners. London schemes alone claimed 12 spots.

RIBA will choose the winner of the coveted Stirling from the RIBA National Awards projects.