Will Gamble ('05) and his firm, WillGamble/Architects, have won a 2022 RIBA National Award for their project, The Parchment Works, an extension on a Grade II listed Victorian house, which incorporates the ruined walls of an historic parchment factory. On their way to picking up the national award, the project also won a number of regional awards, including the RIBA East Midlands Award 2022, RIBA East Midlands Conservation Award 2022 and RIBA East Midlands Small Project of the Year Award 2022. 

Will credits his time at Oakham as the beginning of his journey, saying, "Oakham School provided me with a broad education that extended beyond the conventional four walls of the class room, which suited me perfectly.  If I wasn’t on the sports field then I was in the art department and it was here where I realised that I wanted to pursue creative career that involved making something - Architecture felt like the natural choice.” 

Will and his team are "a design-led studio in Barnes, London, that focuses on residential architecture and interiors with a particular interest in working with existing buildings where we create contemporary interventions that compliment and enhance our historic environment. We encourage the use of natural materials where possible and believe that the best form of sustainability is inventive re-use."

The RIBA East Midlands jury panel described The Parchment Works as "a delightful extension to a grade II listed double-fronted Victorian house. The formal street frontage gives no clues to a garden extension that is full of surprises, with indoor and outdoor rooms that enjoy the tectonic richness of the ruined walls of an historic parchment factory and designated scheduled monument. 

"The architect has combined the inventive re-use of existing structures with reclaimed and up-cycled materials to create an exemplar of conservation practice, and the jury were delighted to give this project a regional award."

Congratulations, Will!