Pepper Street Car Park wins Northern Design Award 2025
Chapman Taylor’s Rooftop Social Club concept for Pepper Street Car Park in Chester has won the Northern Design Award 2025 in the category of ‘Conversion / Redesign / Repurpose’, recognising excellence in transforming existing buildings through creative and sustainable design.
Chapman Taylor Associate Director Paul Graham second left
The award celebrates Chapman Taylor’s visionary adaptive reuse concept, which reimagines a 1960s multistorey car park in the heart of Chester as a vibrant new social and cultural destination.
The design transforms the underused structure into a multi-level rooftop venue made from recycled shipping containers and locally sourced timber, creating a lively and sustainable environment that supports Chester’s tourism and evening economy.
The flexible layout includes cabanas, open seating terraces, pop-up event zones and spaces for live performances, encouraging social interaction and community engagement. Guided by sustainability and circular design principles, the project showcases how existing urban assets can be revitalised to deliver new social and environmental value.
Now in its 23rd year, the Northern Design Awards celebrate design excellence across architecture, interiors, and landscaping throughout the Midlands, North of England and Scotland. The winners were announced at a ceremony held on Thursday, 13th November 2025, at the magnificent Manchester Cathedral.
By repurposing an existing building rather than demolishing it, the proposal embodies Chapman Taylor’s commitment to Responsible Design, extending the life of the structure, reducing embodied carbon and creating a new focal point for visitors and residents alike.
Congratulations to everyone involved in the project, and to our client and collaborators, for helping bring this award-winning vision to life.
