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...

We’re thrilled to be embarking on another new project at a luxury hotel in The Lakes. This retreat was constructed in the late nineteenth century and has been extended over the years. Our brief was to create a more modern and attractive point of welcome that echoed the original design but with fresh, contemporary detailing in keeping with its brand.

A re-think of the layout was necessary to unite the disparate sections of the hotel that were difficult to navigate; the new floorplan improves the public spaces, separating off the...

We were pleased to be invited back to see a recently completed MGA-designed domestic extension to a traditional cottage in North Lancashire, where the clients together with their builders, TCL Construction, have brought our designs to fruition.

The contemporary single-storey rear extension has created a through living space with a marvellous aspect on to the beautiful fields and church beyond, balancing the predominantly glazed elevations with an imposing stone fireplace. The extension reflects the home’s traditional details, wh...

We are delighted to announce two recent recruits to the MGA team:

Hannah Foster joins us as a recent graduate from UCLAN as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant. During her degree, Hannah worked on a project to design a temple in Lancashire and a housing scheme in Liverpool. She was awarded ‘Best Portfolio’, ‘Best Degree Show’ and ‘RIBA Mentee of the Year’ and was the RIBA Bronze Presidents Medal nominee. Hannah was born and raised in the Ribble Valley.

Wes joins us after 12 years working in various practices in Manchester on a varie...

Mason Gillibrand are pleased to have completed an exciting and contemporary new build house in the heart of the Lune Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This planning approval was effectively for tandem development of a new-build house in the grounds of an existing property. Although the build form is traditional with pitched roofs and strong gable, the palette of materials used (ashlar random coursed stone, timber cladding and slate) harmonised with sleek contemporary glazed gables makes for a striking and very exciting...

When Notre Dame was engulfed in flames earlier this year, graphic news footage showing the partial destruction of this historic monument shocked people all over the world. And, as the smoke rose from the embers, talk turned to how the cathedral might be restored.

We’ve discussed the topic of restoring precious heritage buildings in MGA’s Soapbox before – most recently in relation to the restoration of the Glasgow School of Art. In the case of Notre Dame, its age and cultural importance weigh even more heavily on those who will d...

The best way to create an energy-efficient home that has running costs as low as its carbon emissions is to build ‘green’ technologies into the earliest design stages of a new build – as was showcased in a recent MGA project in the Lune Valley where the client was keen to prioritise energy-saving measures.

It’s important to consider the natural hierarchy of factors that contribute to energy performance:

1. Using less energy

2. Supplying energy more efficiently

3. Using renewable technologies

In this case, by specifying the...

Work will be commencing in the next few days on the renovation of a Grade II Listed former Inn in North Lancashire.

We have worked closely with our client and a team of consultants to gain listed building consent and conditional building regulations approval so that a local bulding company could be engaged to undertake the work which includes some careful conservation of existing stone work and the sympathetic updating of the interiors.

Standby for updates as the project progresses.