Rocket House

by Napper Architects

Award RIBA North East Award 2025, RIBA North East Conservation Award 2025 (sponsored by Velux), and RIBA North East Small Project of the Year 2025

The award winner tells us: "The project’s main focus has been the sensitive restoration and refurbishment of the existing building which is situated in an exposed, coastal village, demanding a sensitive approach.

The existing building is that of a late 19th century rocket house, a unique building type built specifically to house life-saving apparatus which would be used when coastal conditions prevented lifeboats from being deployed. As one of the last few remaining rocket houses on the North East coast, the project has been vital to keep this important piece of local heritage alive.

The original Rocket House building has been fully restored, and the design intervention looked to rework a previous 1990s extension to the property, which provided cramped amenity space, by proposing a new roof structure and window to make this space more functional. Throughout, the building has been refurbished to provide a modern and comfortable place to stay."

The jury says: "A series of meticulous and sensitive moves have conserved the building for the future, while also adapting it to be a useful space for family and friends to stay in. The local community’s support for the conservation of this part of their village’s history makes this project’s story about more than just the building.

Externally, the original whinstone was covered in historically inappropriate masonry paint. Removing this was a painstaking process, carefully judged to take off enough but not too much – leaving the story of the building’s previous treatment clearly legible."

Read the full citation from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal

Contractor Datim

Structural engineer JC Consulting

Gross internal area 48.2m²