The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. From over 300 projects nationally and following a rigorous 1st stage assessment process, the Black country Living Museum is a Regional Finalist.

‘ All aspects of the architectural and design merits of the schemes in addition to sustainability credentials, accessibility, and the civic contribution of each have were debated at great length. Ensuring that each project has been designed with the needs of all users in mind’.

All Regional Finalists will now be considered by the National Judging Panel members in the Civic Trust Awards. Each project may go on to be recognised Nationally/Internationally and be one of our 2024 Award or Highly Commended Winners.

Photography by Jim Stevenson

Black Country Living Museum’s Visitor Centre has won a National Brick Award 2023, for best Public Building

Read BDA’s article

The brick plays a key role in the new building, with reference back to the historic museum, the selected darks give an aged but contemporary feel.

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Photography by Lorenzo Zandri

We are pleased to announce that Napier Clarke is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified.

Westwood Road has been shortlisted in the individual house category for the Brick Awards 2023

Read BDA’s article

The project exemplifies the use of brick in the suburbs, taking a contextual form and recreating it in a contemporary way. The form is derived from the language of the existing streetscape, formed of semi detached bungalows, The brick, a handmade Charnwood Henley red, is detailed to focus on stretcher and stack bond laying to create a four bay front that related more to public architecture than domestic

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Photography by Lorenzo Zandri

Black Country Living Museum receives a Royal visit

Last week, we were honoured to have received a Royal visit from the Duke of Gloucester at the Black Country Living Museum – Visitor Centre.

Interestingly the Duke or Prince Richard practiced as an architect until the death of his elder brother, Willian, placed him in direct line to inherit his fathers dukedom of Gloucester, which he assumed in 1974.

We are very happy to welcome Harry, an experienced part II Architectural Assistant, to our growing team!

Read more about Harry’s experience in our Team profile page

Wentworth receives planning!

The impressive scheme is on the outskirts of Henley and located in the Chilterns AONB. Surrounded by open fields woodland with several farms, the design takes inspiration from both traditional farm building ad the modern humble ew industrial buildings.

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Planning permission granted for new contemporary one off house in Bledlow Ridge, Buckinghamshire.

Drawing on surrounding architectural barn typologies the design uses flint and open board timber cladding. Read more

Black Country Visitor Centre in Dudley evokes industrial heritage.

Read the RIBA Journal Article

We are delighted to have the Black Country Visitor Centre featured in the RIBA Journal @ribajournal

Many thanks to Isabelle Priest for the inspiring words.

‘This is a building that is contemporary, vernacular, inventive, meaningful and yet simple’

Photography by @lorenzozandri

NCA have recently submitted a new scheme for a one-off house on the outskirts of Henley in AONB. 

The design intends to take inspiration from both the traditional farm building and the modern ‘humble’ new industrial buildings. With reference to both form and materials. The standard industrial farm buildings are articulated in a bespoke way to create a piece of contemporary contextual design.

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Construction well underway for our project reimagining a dilapidated industrial plot on the banks of the Thames in Taplow into a community residential led scheme.

The diagrams present the re-development concept. A historic boathouse, built circa 1900, is restored and repurposed within our proposals, preserving, and enhancing the existing context and local character. The existing boathouse is converted into 2 residential units with an additional 6 new contemporary houses. The massing, roofscape and fenestration of six new homes references the old boathouse in a sensitive but contemporary way, to create a strong identity for the overall scheme rooted in the local townscape, and wider riverside setting.

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Modular Matters Conference February 2023

Director Amy had a great day at Modular Matters Conference in Birmingham! Great to listen to expert speakers discussing the latest developments and innovations in this sector.

Thanks to Imran Kassim, a good friend, who gave his insights on Net Zero in MMC.

New one-off house located in Bledlow Ridge, AONB has been submitted for planning.

The design of Crofters draws inspiration from the surrounding agricultural barn typologies on the site, using flint and open board timber cladding. Conceptually the timber volume is elevated above the flint plinth and seemingly ‘floats’ above a zone of glass and structure to create a compelling piece of architecture.

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Progress on site at the Old Boathouse development

The contractors are progressing with the external masonry skin and completing the roof structure, ready to receive valley gutters, insulation and tiled roof build up.  Out team is enjoying capturing the atmospheric progress shots across from the river. We are starting to read the pitched roofscape reflected in the water.

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Following Planning Approval in 2021, in Collaboration with our new clients, Brockwell Group, our revised scheme has received planning

We developed the initial design principles of reinterpreting the existing long houses on the site which is located in an Area of Outstanding Beauty. The proposed scheme conceived the dwellings on the site both individually to respond to the peculiarities of each site’s surroundings and collectively to appear as a family of buildings. The houses are unified through crisp forms, roof pitches, fenestration, and a common palette of high-quality materials.

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Finnamore Wood – Napier Clarke Architects

We are pleased to announce the completion of the Black Country Living Museum’s Visitors Centre and are releasing the finished photography by Lorenzo Zandri

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Black Country Living Museum – Visitor Centre – Napier Clarke Architects

Delighted to have received the Brick Award 2022 in the category of Individual House for Chelwood!

We must thank Michelmersh and Justin @justfacades for all their help and support throughout this project!

Chelwood – Napier Clarke Architects

Preview – Black Country Living Musuem – Visitors Centre

We are excited to be soon releasing the final images for our newly completed competition wining scheme for the Black Country Living Museum.

Check out the webpage for an early preview

Black Country Living Museum – Visitor Centre – Napier Clarke Architects

Photography by Lorenzo Zandri

Happy to share that Cowcroft Farm has received planning permission

The proposal is a series of new sustainable outbuildings providing ancillary residential accommodation. The design replaces outbuildings, connecting directly to an existing Grade II listed building.

Cowcroft Farm – Napier Clarke Architects

Chelwood receives a High Commendation at the British Homes Awards 2022! Congratulations to all involved

Photography by Lorenzo Zandri

We are delighted to announce we have been nominated for the Manser Medal in the AJ House of the Year category for our project Chelwood.

Exclusive: 11 Manser Medal finalists 2022 revealed

Congratulations to the team and a thank you to the photographer Lorenzo Zandri.

We are excited to share with you the new project C Farm, recently submitted for Planning.

The architectural proposal seeks to replace the existing  barns with a series of new sustainable timber outbuildings. The design provides ancillary residential accommodation which is connected to an existing Grade III listed building. We have been working with the renowned heritage consultants at Purcell and the award winning landscape architects Harris Bug Studio to deliver the planning application.

We are delighted to announce that Napier Clarke Architects have been selected as a finalist for the Building Design Architect of the Year Award 2022 in the category of Individual House Architect of the Year!

Many thanks to our talented team and to Joakim Boren & Lorenzo Zandri for photography and Haze Viz for visualisations

The Black Country Living Museum due for completion Summer 2022

We are pleased to announce two of our project shave been shortlisted for a British Homes Award, Chelwood in the category of House of the Year (over 2,500 sqft)

We are pleased to announce two of our project shave been shortlisted for a British Homes Award, Copper Beeches in the category of House of the Year (up to 2,500 sqft)

We are pleased to announce Chelwood has been shortlisted for a Brick Award in the category of Individual Housing