The RNLI approached Studio Four to design a new lifeboat station for ‘sailing capital’ Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The institution had recently taken over the independently run Cowes Inshore Lifeboat, which had no lifeboat station of its own, and had therefore acquired the vacant ‘Old Custom House’ in the Cowes Conservation Area, overlooking the entrance to the River Medina. The strong feature of a domestic- style rear of the building and a seaward facing modern frontage was maintained and accentuated

The completed building was opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 25th July 2012