Napper Architects are delighted to report that James Gilbert has achieved the Passive House accreditation. The Passive House standard has been developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany and is gaining momentum both on a national and global platform, it is the world’s leading ‘fabric first’ approach to low energy building. As well as significantly reducing the heating and energy requirements for buildings Passive House is a comfort standard that ensures healthier indoor conditions with excellent air quality and consistent temperatures.

Last month saw the first students residing at Teesside’s University’ recently completed £21m Cornell Quarter accommodation.

The accommodation has been delivered within an incredibly tight programme of 2 years from the very first sketches produced by Napper Architects in October 2018. It is testament to what can be achieved in a such a short period when Client, Design Team, and Contractor work collaboratively together. The successful delivery of the Construction part of the works also had to work around the additional pressures from the impact of COVID-19.

Napper Architects have recently strengthened their workforce with four key appointments within the company, allowing their excellent client service and project delivery to continue.

Following three successful years with Napper, Joshua Treverton has been promoted to the role of Associate. In his time with Napper, Joshua has had a critical role in the design and delivery of a range of projects, most recently the design and successful handover of the £20 million Cornell Quarter for Teesside University, providing a new 300-bed accommodation development within the heart of Middlesbrough. In his role as Associate, Joshua will take the lead in the evolution of Napper’s BIM delivery across all our operations whilst continuing his role in the design and delivery of our Clients’ projects.

Following its refurbishment Morpeth Railway Station was officially opened on the 8th September 2020 by Andy Savage, Executive Director of the Railway Heritage Trust.

The building originally opened in 1847 and was designed by local architect Benjamin Green who was also responsible for numerous civic and public buildings, including many railway stations on the East Coast Main Line.

Napper Architects have, working closely with local developers, Lugano, designed three high quality contemporary family homes at Runnymede Road, Darras Hall. The designs utilise the very best of sustainable technology and are well-mannered integrating elegantly into the site which gently slopes down to the river Pont. The scheme achieved full planning approval in August 2020.

Scott Munro, Lugano stated that, “The designs create a subtle and quietly contemporary solution that exploits the topography of the site and provides a 21st century environmentally friendly living.”

Construction work is nearing completion at Roseate View in Amble for All Saints Living. The thirteen detached properties are being built on a brownfield site and lie in a great location on the Northumberland coastline. Comprising seven townhouses and six bungalows, the development provides contemporary living in an historic coastal setting.

Construction work on the refurbishment of Morpeth Railway Station by main contractor STP Construction is complete. The conservation, repair, and adaptation of the Grade II listed Benjamin Green designed building, originally completed in 1847, provides a new entrance hub, ticket office and café space accessed via the historic portico. In addition, vacant space in the building is converted to managed business units and a taxi office is incorporated in the form of a railway caboose located to the west of the entrance forecourt. 

A major new office development within Darlington has been successfully delivered by Napper Architects on time and within budget. The £8.5 million Feethams House, delivered with Willmott Dixon through the Scape Framework, provides 30,000 sq ft office accommodation over five storeys, including a floor-to-ceiling fully glazed top floor providing panoramic views over Darlington.

The Grade II-listed City Baths in Newcastle has re-opened to the public after an extensive £7.5 million refurbishment to designs by Napper Architects. The development was commissioned by Fusion Lifestyle to breathe new life into the historic building. Six years after its closure, work has been completed to restore the existing pool and to add new facilities including a fully-equipped gym, fitness studios, sauna and changing accommodation. Work continues to complete the restoration of the Turkish Baths and the addition of spa facilities, which are set to open soon.

Graeme Dodd RIBA SCA, Director at Napper Architects, has been appointed by Durham County Council (DCC) to assist in their delivery of the Bishop Auckland Heritage Action Zone Conservation Area Grant Scheme. The project is jointly funded by DCC and Historic England and will run from 2019 to 2022.

Wooley House, a private residence in Northumberland, is nearing completion. The Napper-designed project uses traditional materials and forms in keeping with its rural location; sandstone and slate are used in a contemporary manner and define each of the two intersecting wings which make up the cruciform plan, whilst also responding to the steep slope which falls south to north across the site.

Napper Architects, working closely with clients Kevin and Allison Wright, have developed an innovative well-mannered building design which integrates elegantly into its surroundings. The design was presented to the Regional Design Review Panel who concluded that, “It creates a bold yet subtle design solution, building on the concepts of the wall gardens, outhouses and greenhouse and reinterpreting the concepts in a 21^stcentury manner.” 

Following on from the 2018 Napper competition win (see June 2018 new report), the University of Reading and Loughborough extended the work to support AMR awareness in Rwanda.

The overall work has been completed as part of an AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) funded project “Information Design and Architecture in Persuasive Pharmacy Space: combating AMR (IDAPPS).“

The grade II ‘Estate House’ on Saddler Street in Durham city centre has received planning approval and listed building consent.

The ‘Estate House’ is an 18th century brick double-fronted building that incorporates the remains of two 17th century timber-framed structures; stone walls at basement level are earlier, dating back to the late 16th century. The historic structure and fabric will be retained and repaired as part of the building’s conversion. The design team has worked closely with an ecologist and an area of the basement will be devoted to a bat hibernaculum with features incorporated to promote its use as a bat roost.

Napper Architects are delighted to report that planning permission has been granted for the demolition of the Rubber Factory premises on North Shields Quayside and the construction of 49 one and two bedroom apartments and a single townhouse. Design proposals provide a contemporary response to the historic riverside setting and were developed in close collaboration with JC Quay and Patrick Parsons. Extensive consultations were carried out which resolved a number of concerns raised during the planning process.