Thornsett Group and the Benyon Estate named the 2022 RIBA Client of the Year

The 8,500-square-meter (91,500-square-foot) mixed-use structure was realized this year at the cost of £26 million ($29.5 million USD) and is marked by its distinctive red brick composition and cloistered inner courtyard feature. A press announcement from the organization mentioned its “village-like” design aiming to “increase visibility and foster a sense of community.” 

"I thank and congratulate both Thornsett Group Estate PLC and the Benyon Estate for their commitment to addressing the local community’s needs for affordable housing and a primary school,” Denise Bennetts, the chair of this year’s Client of the Year jury, said in a statement. “Their resolve and dedication enabled Henley Halebrown to design and deliver visually striking and practical facilities — a critical and clever hybrid intervention that maximises the potential of an extremely complex site.”

Bennetts was joined on the three-member panel by Tracy Meller, a Senior Partner at RSHP; and Dr. Timothy Winter, Cambridge Mosque Trustee, Founder and Dean of the Cambridge Muslim College, which was named winner of the RIBA Client of the Year for 2021.