A garden glasshouse reception building by MawsonKerr to transform Auckland Castle into a major visitor destination and the low-energy Locomotion New Hall by AOC Architecture are among the 11 projects jostling for the regional prize.

GT3 Architects made the cut for a leisure centre in Morpeth on the edge of the historic market town’s conservation area. It provides adult learning facilities, a public library, and community uses. A new-build bungalow by Scott Donald has also been shortlisted.

Elliot Architects appears twice on the shortlist for its ‘light-filled’ Courtyard House in rural Northumberland and for a new home in Hexham, known as Battle Hill Studio.

Two projects by SPACE Architects are in contention: the reuse of a cluster of Georgian farm buildings for the Beamish Museum; and the restoration of the Grade II*-listed Goods Shed as part of the wider Hopetown Darlington project.

Rounding off the list are a timber-framed house in Newcastle by Miltiadou Cook Mitzman and Musson Brown Architects, the conversion of a stone granary and an agricultural outbuilding into two holiday lets by StudioNorth, and the 657-capacity Sundersea Sunderland car park project by Tonkin Liu, which was also in the running for the award last year.

Last year’s North East Award was taken home by Elphick Associate’s £10.2 million Ad Gefrin Anglo Saxon Museum and Distillery in Wooler, rural Northumbria, which also bagged the Sustainability Award and Client of the Year titles, as well as garnering practice founder Richard Elphick the accolade of Project Architect of the Year.

RIBA North East jury chair Andrew Thompson, associate at Faulkner Browns, said: ‘This year’s projects range from finely crafted homes in picturesque landscapes, sensitive restoration of industrial heritage, to a playful creativity applied to seemingly “everyday” typologies. A deep sense of commitment to care, craft and quality runs throughout the shortlist.

‘Great architecture should delight, challenge expectations and carry a deep sense of responsibility to client, community and climate. The jury looks forward to visiting each project across the region and assessing them against this high standard.’

The regional jury will now visit and assess all the shortlisted projects. The winners will be announced in the spring.

The winners will also be considered for several special awards, including the RIBA Sustainability Award and RIBA London Building of the Year.

And they will be in the running for a RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, the results of which will be announced in the summer.

The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for best building of the year will then be drawn from the national award-winning projects. The Stirling Prize-winner will be announced in October.

Mono House, by Scott Donald Architecture, credit: Nick Guttridge Press

Shortlist

Walled Garden, Auckland Castle, by MawsonKerr Architects. Photograph: Oli Sturdy Press