The jury also praised the building by the Cheshire-based practice for its ‘harmony and serenity’. The project, a replacement dwelling just outside Newcastle upon Tyne, is single-storey and clad in burnt timber and dark monochrome brick.

The house was joined in winning a 2026 RIBA North East award by the redevelopment of a 17th century castle’s garden by MawsonKerr, a new building for the National Railway Museum in County Durham, the conversion of a Northumberland farmstead into homes, and a prefabricated courtyard house in Newcastle by Miltiadou Cook Mitzman and Musson Brown Architects.

Mono House by Scott Donald Architecture (credit: Nick Guttridge)

MawsonKerr’s garden glasshouse reception at Auckland Castle also won the region’s Conservation Award, while the low-energy Locomotion New Hall by AOC Architecture took home the Sustainability prize and made associate Hannah Stringer project Architect of the Year.

The conversion of a stone granary and an agricultural outbuilding into two holiday lets by StudioNorth won the North East’s Client award as well as its best Small Project award.

Among those to miss out on regional gongs this year were two projects by SPACE Architects: 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.

The other shortlisted schemes which also failed to pick up honours in the North East were: GT3 Architects’ leisure centre in Morpeth on the edge of the historic market town’s conservation area, Tonkin Liu’s 657-capacity Sundersea Sunderland car park project, which was also in the running for the award last year, and both Elliot Architects’ shortlisted projects – a new home in Hexham known as Battle Hill Studio and its courtyard house in rural Northumberland.

Walled Garden, Auckland Castle by MawsonKerr Architect (credit: Graeme Peacock)

RIBA North East jury chair and associate at Faulkner Browns Andrew Thompson, said: ‘This year’s awarded projects are eclectic by almost every measure; yet this seemingly sporadic collection of projects is tied together by a strong sense of care and craft.

‘Care over things that many wouldn’t notice, care over decisions taken purposefully at every stage, care for their clients, and care for the planet. Each project marries technical prowess with creative and playful design to produce buildings which delighted and surprised the jury on our visits.’

He added: ‘All of the awarded projects are also underpinned by wonderfully human stories. Great buildings are for living, and this year’s awards showcase the diversity and joy of living in the North East.’

The regional jury visited and assessed all 11 shortlisted projects. The winners were announced last week [21 May] at a ceremony.

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. However, no project from the North East region went onto win a 2025 RIBA National Award.

This year’s national awards will be announced on 9 July.

The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize – the UK’s best new building – will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects and announced in September. The Stirling Prize winner will be announced in October.

The Limeworks by StudioNorth (credit: Matthew Smith Architectural Photography)

RIBA North East award winners

Locomotion New Hall by AOC Architecture
Mono House by Scott Donald Architecture
Newcastle Courtyard House by Miltiadou Cook Mitzman and Musson Brown Architects
The Limeworks by StudioNorth
Walled Garden, Auckland Castle by MawsonKerr Architects