This is just a quick note to confirm that Mason Gillibrand Architects office is now temporarily closed due to the government advice on the COVID-19 virus. 

Our staff are now working from home however following the Prime Minister's announcement this evening, we shall not be able to continue with out of office operations such as site meetings, but we shall be able to continue our office based design work.

Please now use the following contact details:

Paul Duckett paul@masongillibrand.co.uk

Tel. 07989 203868

Julian Handy julian@masongi...

Work has just started on site at a coach house renovation project in Carlisle. The coach house, which once formed part of a larger estate, is being sympathetically extended on the ground floor to create an open-plan kitchen/dining space that will afford extensive views across the gardens and beyond.

The extension will reflect the traditional detailing of the existing building with the addition of some contemporary features.

You don’t have to be a climate activist to want a more sustainable way of life. So why do UK tax breaks favour new-build developments over the restoration of heritage buildings?

Everybody recycles, right?

Sorting household rubbish into boxes rather than shoving it all into landfill seems like the very least we can do to offset the rapid march of climate change. But lately, we’re also being asked to reflect more generally on how consumerism is helping to create the throw-away society that’s responsible for landing us with mountain...

We’re thrilled to announce that Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa has been shortlisted under the leisure category in the RICS Social Impact Award 2020 in the North West Region. The RICS award is designed to recognise examples of positive and transformational projects in a diverse range of categories, including commercial, education and healthcare sectors. Projects are assessed at a local level, after which regional winners will go on to compete for a UK accolade.

Occupying an enviable location on the edge of Lake Windermere, Low Wood...

The team enjoyed a delightful evening of incredible food in great company during the MGA Christmas Party at the Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa.

The resort has recently undergone a makeover under the eye of our practice, and we are extremely grateful for their team providing a magical evening for our colleagues and their partners.

 The MGA Team and significant others enjoying pre-dinner drinks in the new luxury Winander Club.

The office has been hosting a weekly competition to challenge our team’s baking skills. Every Monday was a showcase of creativity and deliciousness and we have had – surprisingly – no disasters.

The winner in the end with her incredible spooky Halloween creation was Ella – who was awarded the Mason Gillibrand First Round Winner Wooden Spoon!

We’ve recently completed the redevelopment of a traditional house in Troutbeck, successfully marrying contemporary design with the local vernacular without creating a pastiche to a bygone era.

Beautiful Lake District stonework runs throughout, punctuated with elegant glazed panels set back from the exterior façade and accentuated by classic white rendered elevations. The use of regional materials and finishes roots the property in its setting.

The annual RIBA Stirling Prize normally favours ambitious public or commercial projects; previous winners include the Scottish Parliament building (2005), The Everyman Theatre in Liverpool (2014) and Hastings Pier (2017). Which makes it all the more surprising that this year’s recipient of one of the most prestigious prizes in architecture is a community of newly built council houses in Norwich.

Precisely a century since the Addison Act of 2019 officially kicked off a countrywide programme of council housing development, the awa...

At the end of September, the MGA team spent (a very rainy) weekend in Lisbon, on our annual study trip.

The Portuguese capital is bursting with culture and there’s a multitude of things to see and do. The rich and varied architecture, as well as colourful street art, feeds the eye and the mind and provided the team with some great photo opportunities as well as new insights into delivering design.

The hand made tiled facades were so vibrant and colourful, despite the indifferent weather!

The team enjoyed a fantastic variety of loc...

Work continues on site at a Listed country house in Lancashire, which dates back to the sixteenth century, with Georgian and Victorian phase additions and alterations. There have been few alterations since the early 1900s but a new generation now wants to adapt the house for modern family living.

Significant changes are afoot with MGA acting as lead consultant, with a new double-height central atrium space part of the rationalisation of a complex arrangement of Victorian servants’ bedrooms and circulation corridors.

Mason Gillibr...