RIBA Reinvention Award

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced Croft 3 on the Isle of Mull, Scotland by fardaa as the winner of the 2024 RIBA Reinvention Award.

The ruined croft was bought by the owner to expand her busy local restaurant. 

The brief was to create a restaurant space that retained the intimate and simple character of a croft building while maximising the opportunity for customers to enjoy the awe-inspiring landscape and views across to the Isle of Ulva and Atlantic Ocean.  

Meeting the National Scenic Area’s expectations for design quality and a clear social benefit, Croft 3 transforms a once dilapidated ruin into a truly unique, intimate community space. 

Jury Chair and Director of Dow Jones, Biba Dow, said:
"Croft 3 talks powerfully of the dramatic capacity for re-invention and re-activation at a small scale. Fardaa have brought to this project great skill and sensitivity, extending and transforming a ruin into a carefully detailed restaurant much-loved by its local community on the Isle of Mull."

Edward Farleigh, Founder of fardaa, said:
“We are delighted that Croft 3 has won the 2024 RIBA Reinvention Award. The project illustrates how the character of historic buildings can be successfully integrated with contemporary design whilst benefiting local people and minimising carbon emissions. This award acknowledges a combined effort, with a driven and progressive client, a fantastic design team and the will of a strong, supportive community.” 

Find out more about the Special Awards and hear from the winners on RIBAJ

Croft 3 (RIAS) by fardaa 
A ruined rural croft on the Isle of Mull has been modestly yet expertly converted, expanding a busy local restaurant and providing a valuable community space, while meeting the stringent regulations of a National Scenic Area. 

Park Hill Phase 2 by Mikhail Riches 
The second phase of an ongoing regeneration of Europe’s largest listed structure which sits on a prominent hillside overlooking Sheffield City Centre. Internal spaces are modernised through open plan designs and the addition of balconies, while thermal imaging has allowed sustainability experts to  improve energy efficiency.  

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios 
A full refurbishment of a hugely important historic structure has turned the world’s first iron-frame building, nicknamed the ‘grandparent of skyscrapers’ into a new leisure destination with a visitor centre and cafe that embraces its industrial heritage. 

The Parcels Building by Grafton Architects 
An outdated and unsuitable 1957 office and retail building has been transformed into a vibrant, sustainable centre for modern workspace and retail. The new façade brings depth and rhythm whilst cleverly negotiating the contrasting scale and character of Oxford Street and Duke Street. 

Biba Dow (Chair) - Director of Dow Jones

James McCosh - Partner at van Heyningen and Haward Architects

Otto Saumarez Smith - Architectural and Urban Historian at the University of Warwick