A copper-clad home extension in Cambridge has been named as one of 22 buildings across the East that has been shortlisted for a national design award.

The extension by Butcher Bayley Architects (BBA), based in Yaxley, is among the redesign of Ely Museum and Magdalene College Library for the 2022 RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) East Awards.

BBA’s extension of a mid-terrace house in the Mill Road Conservation Area in the city is the smallest project recognised for this year’s awards.

Director and co-founder of Butcher Bayley Architects, Luke Butcher, spoke about the project.

He said: “The tight constraints of the site encouraged some out-of-the-box thinking.

"When our client talked about their love of some of the public buildings in Cambridge with their patinated copper cladding, we decided to incorporate the material into our design.

“New roof lights are positioned to provide waves of natural light during the day and a window seat makes the perfect spot to relax.”

He added: “We even brought in handmade terracotta tiles from Italy as touchstone to our client’s Italian childhood.

“It was a great project to design and to see realised.”

The shortlisting for a RIBA award comes at a good time for Butcher Bayley Architects, which celebrated its fifth birthday in November (2021).

The practice has grown ‘significantly’ in the last two years, with four new members joining the team since 2020.

Together, the team oversaw £6million of construction projects in 2021 alone.

Speaking about the RIBA shortlisting, Luke said: “We’re honoured to have been recognised by such a prestigious institution.

“Copper House is a project we’re really proud of and to get an award from RIBA would be an amazing achievement for us.”

Regional award winners are considered for several RIBA Special Awards including the RIBA Sustainability Award and the RIBA Building of the Year.

All shortlisted awards will be assessed by a regional jury, and the winning projects will be announced later this Spring.

Luke said: “We’re look forward to taking the RIBA judges around our project and finding out the results in Spring!”

You can find out more about Butcher Bayley Architects on their website.