Coastal House, the elegant reinvention of an early twentieth-century house on the South Devon coast, and Old Shed New House, an old farm shed in North Yorkshire which has been transformed into a beautifully crafted and sustainable home for its retired owners, are the third and fourth homes to be shortlisted for the 2018 RIBA House of the Year award.
These two shortlisted homes were revealed in the second episode of a special four-part Channel 4 TV series - Grand Designs: House of the Year broadcast on Wednesday 14 November. The full shortlist of seven homes are being revealed during the series, with the winner announced in the final episode, to be broadcast on Wednesday 28 November.
The shortlist for the 2018 RIBA House of the Year is:
- Pheasants by Sarah Griffiths + Amin Taha
- Red House by 31/44 Architects
- Coastal House by 6a Architects
- Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu
- ? – to be announced on 21 November 2018
- ? – to be announced on 21 November 2018
- ? – to be announced on 28 November 2018
The 2018 RIBA House of the Year is sponsored by Forterra.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. For further press information contact Abigail.Chiswell-White@riba.org 020 7307 3811.
3. The next episode of Grand Designs: House of the Year airs on Wednesday 21st November at 9pm on Channel 4.
4. The RIBA House of the Year award is awarded every year to the best new house or house extension designed by an architect in the UK. Previous winners include Richard Murphy Architects for Murphy House (2016), Skene Catling de la Peña for Flint House (2015), Loyn & Co for Stormy Castle (2014) and Carl Turner Architects for Slip House (2013).
5. For the first time this year Forterra is sponsoring RIBA House of the Year. Forterra is a leading manufacturer of a diverse range of clay and concrete building products, used extensively within the construction sector, and employs over 1,800 people across 18 facilities in the UK. It is the second largest brick and aircrete block manufacturer in the country, and the only producer of the iconic London Brick. Other trusted brands from Forterra include Thermalite, Conbloc, Ecostock, Butterley, Cradley, Red Bank, Bison Precast, Jetfloor and Formpave. forterra.co.uk
6. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. Follow @RIBA on Twitter for regular updates www.twitter.com/RIBA
7. Grand Designs: House of the Year is produced by Boundless, producers of Grand Designs.
8. The RIBA judges’ full citations and image links for each building follows:
Coastal House by 6a Architects
Images can be downloaded here.
The transformation of this early twentieth century house close to the South Devon coastal path is breath-taking in its elegant restraint. Having explored options for complete reconstruction, the retention of much of the original structure, wrapped in an external insulating ‘duvet’ and faced in reclaimed slate, has resulted in a house which feels rooted in place, rich in history, but also in contemporary detail and delight. The exterior gives few clues to the extent of the reinvention – an elegant oak framed veranda and the curious ovoids which punctuate the deep lead fascia are the only immediate indications of what lies within.
The interior has been reinvented by the removal of one of the four original chimney stacks. New openings are framed in board-marked in situ concrete and a winding timber stair rises through the central three storey, top lit atrium creating a series of balconies and terraces to an extraordinary interior landscape. Walls are generally painted, coursed rubble. A silken maple handrail on raking oak balusters winds around the central space. At ground level the floor level has been dropped to connect inside and out, elongating existing windows and creating a grand scale for the more public rooms. A cross axis at the centre of the plan aligns with views out in every direction, framing the stunning coastal views and shorter aspects into an inner courtyard. Externally Dan Pearson has created a series of landscapes which mediate from rolling clifftop to walled gardens – his terrace on which the new veranda rests comprises shallow, honed slate steps with riven risers.
This project has emerged from several years of dialogue between client and architect, and a brave change in direction well into the design process. The scheme both respects and reinvents the original house to create a timeless and beautifully made new home.
Contractor: J E Stacey & Co. Ltd
Structural Engineers: Price & Myers
Environmental / M&E Engineers: Ritchie + Daffin
Landscape Architects: Dan Pearson
Quantity Surveyor / Cost Consultant: Gleeds
Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu
Images can be downloaded here.
The clients had spent several years looking for a quiet site to build their retirement home, before they found a farm shed located in a wild garden, on the edge of a small village in North Yorkshire.
Discovering the site with their son Greg, now Associate at Tonkin Lui and Mike Tonkin, they sought to pull the landscape into the building’s form. A long double height gallery maintains the tree-lined approach and a tall library, bounded by mirror-backed shelving evokes the copse of silver birch found of the site. Walking into the library through a sliding door from the living room brought gasps from the Awards Jury. It is the heart of the home and a showpiece for a lifetime’s collection of books. Clever use of light and mirrors gave the impression of an art piece itself. Otherwise it Is a modest 3-bedroom house, build cost effectively, but with exquisite detailing throughout inside and out.
The house follows a Passivhaus strategy of high insulation, high air tightness, complemented by mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. Timber louvres are neatly integrated into the design of the timber cladding to limit solar gain in the South facing library. Larch cladding of various widths has been shot blasted and stained white between galvanised steel fins to offer a rhythmic façade that reads like the bark of the silver birch trees. Galvanised steel continues inside with a delicate mezzanine and bridge, using only 80mm structural depth, made delicate timber joinery in every room.
The colour scheme of subtle grey tones, concrete screed floor and white shaded timber seems to effortlessly complement the art collection in every room. As the architects say “The house is a journey of interconnected spaces that alternate between the grand and the intimate….. it is part country cottage, part classical villa”
Architect: Tonkin Liu
Client: Private
Contractor: Vine House Construction
Structural Engineer: Rodrigues Associates
Environmental/M&E Engineer: Integration
