The Fitted Rigging House awarded RIBA Sustainability Award 2021

The home to our HQ, The Historic Dockyard Chatham and The Fitted Rigging House, A Schedule Ancient Monument & Grade I listed building, which is 117-metre-long, was the largest storehouse ever constructed for the Royal Navy, originally used by dockyard workers to make standing rigging for wooden warships in the 19th century, has been rated top regional sustainable structure by The Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA.

The Fitted Rigging House at The Historic Dockyard Chatham won the RIBA Southeast Sustainability Award 2021 for its £8.2m preservation project.

The jury for RIBA,  especially appreciated the adoption of natural recycled materials through a ‘fabric first’ approach to improve insulation alongside a strategy of promoting natural ventilation. This results in a great example of meaningful retrofitting and reuse of existing buildings and recognises the value of embodied carbon within the existing structure.

Paul Jackson, Chairperson of Dovetail Games said: “We are delighted that the redevelopment of the Fitted Rigging House has been recognised by RIBA South East Awards 2021. The home to our fabulous HQ, we work closely with Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, sustainability and our environmental impact is important to us and believe as corporate citizens we have a  duty to ensure we are part of the solution and engage with the role businesses play in society.”

When selecting our new HQ, back in 2017, the sustainable  approach the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and the architectures, were taking was key for us, in fact our reception desk is recycled and reused from the original staircase from the Fitted Rigging house – and that was repurposed from a ship! It is wonderful to work in an environment that is diverse and steeped in history. “