Inside the houses toured on Grand Designs: House of the Year 2018
Inside the houses toured on Grand Designs: House of the Year 2018
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1/75 Vex by Chance de Silva & Scanner, Stoke Newington, London
Experimental Vex in Stoke Newington is based on "Vexations” by French composer Erik Satie - a piano piece that repeats 840 times and can take up to 24 hours to perform.
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2/75 Vex by Chance de Silva & Scanner, Stoke Newington, London
Built from curved fluted concrete, it comprises three large, stacked drums each housing a different function. Spirals, movement and fluidity are what this building’s all about.
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3/75 Vex by Chance de Silva & Scanner, Stoke Newington, London
The shapes were made using enormous wooden moulds, or shuttering, filled with concrete to form the walls and floors. A layer of corrugated steel wrapped inside cast the rippling surface.
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4/75 Vex by Chance de Silva & Scanner, Stoke Newington, London
Beautiful oak flooring cosies up the concrete as cathedral-style stairs wind to the top, where a circular roof light acts as a sundial, moving a circle of sunlight across the maing living space and echoing the wheeling nature of the property.
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5/75 Vex by Chance de Silva & Scanner, Stoke Newington, London
The Riba judges admired how raw and decorative, Brutalist and frilly this building is both outside and in. It pushes at the boundaries of design and comfort yet gets softer and more elegant the higher you climb.
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6/75 Maison Wedge by BGA Architects Ltd, Northern Ireland
This playful house in Northern Ireland is entirely designed around the wedge.
Riba
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7/75 Maison Wedge by BGA Architects Ltd, Northern Ireland
There’s a living wedge, a sleeping wedge, window wedges and a patio wedge.
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8/75 Maison Wedge by BGA Architects Ltd, Northern Ireland
Owners Henry and Denise instructed their architects to be bold and assert the building’s presence on the landscape. Inspired by four years spent living in Switzerland, they wanted simple, clean lines and sharp looks.
Riba
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9/75 Maison Wedge by BGA Architects Ltd, Northern Ireland
The Riba judges were struck by the energy of the shapes and the clever concealing of doors and pipes.
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10/75 Maison Wedge by BGA Architects Ltd, Northern Ireland
Thoughtful design is everywhere, from the mezzanine viewing box at the top to the downstairs loo with a view. It’s wedge wonderland, basically.
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11/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
Tucked away in the Kent countryside is Black House, made of four daring cantilevered boxes jutting out at different angles.
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12/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
The kitchen, dining room, living room and bedrooms all have their own boxes.
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13/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
Built by retired engineer Norman and his wife Tina, it’s a real piece of theatre.
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14/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
Standing in the kitchen feels like floating in a great white cloud overlooking the orchard below, with mirrored splashbacks reflecting the countryside at all angles.
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15/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
The minimal dining room overlooks a formal garden...
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16/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
...and the casual cool living room leads onto the luxurious swimming pool.
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17/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
The house wraps around a courtyard in the middle that invites the sky in.
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18/75 Black House by AR Design Studio, Kent
It’s a tribute to the box, "the purest shape”, according to the architect.
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19/75 Lochside House by HaysomWardMiller Architects, Scotland
Found in rugged and remote Scotland, this off-grid crofter’s house blends so seamlessly into its surroundings you’d be hard pushed to find it with a map.
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20/75 Lochside House by HaysomWardMiller Architects, Scotland
Built from burnt Scottish larch cladding and dry stone walls, it looks like a community of finely-crafted sheds has grown up from the ground.In fact, it is one single dwelling comprising three bedrooms, a living room and an open-plan kitchen and dining space.
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21/75 Lochside House by HaysomWardMiller Architects, Scotland
Everything had to be designed to be small enough to fit on the back of a trailer and driven down the long, off-road track that leads to the site. Services were unable to reach it, so it’s powered by the sun with water pulled up through a borehole.
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22/75 Lochside House by HaysomWardMiller Architects, Scotland
Inside, it is pared-back and beautiful, dominated by white oil timber and rough textured plaster. The delightfully modest rooms are entirely livable and everything flows naturally. The changing height of the ceiling helps designate the different spaces and the view of the lake from the master bedroom is magical.
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23/75 Lochside House by HaysomWardMiller Architects, Scotland
The Riba judges loved the choice of materials and integration into the wild setting. The roofing echoes the mountains and the walls pick up the horizontal sediments of the rocks.
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24/75 Gin Distillery by Open Practice Architecture
This converted Victorian gin distillery in Whitechapel, east London, oozes history and character (though sadly not gin).
Rupert Scott, founder and director of Hackney-based Open Practice Architecture, and his wife Leo Wood, an interior designer, bought the original brick building in 2014.
Hidden away in a corner of a non-descript carpark surrounded by industrial buildings, it was mangy and rat-infested, with a corrugated roof, a concrete floor and "a side alley full of fridges”. Only the brick walls and concrete floor would stay.Riba
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25/75 Gin Distillery by Open Practice Architecture
Four years on, it is enjoying a fresh lease of life as a sunny and stylish two-storey home fit for bringing up their two young daughters Evie, five, and Frankie, two. It is a mother’s ruin no more.
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26/75 Gin Distillery by Open Practice Architecture
This inspiring couple flooded the place with light by reinstating its elegant lost Crittall windows and carving a terrace with a structural glass floor into the darkest rear corner.
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27/75 Gin Distillery by Open Practice Architecture
Inside, it is both dramatic and cosy. The interiors are finished to perfection, without being fussy or flashy. The huge kitchen-living room is spanned by a 25ft steel beam...
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28/75 Gin Distillery by Open Practice Architecture
...and privacy restrictions due to overlooking are conquered with cut-out openings that draw in light from elsewhere in the building...
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29/75 Gin Distillery by Open Practice Architecture
It is little wonder the Riba judges praised it as being "a wonderful example of exemplary contemporary architecture patched together with considered heritage reclamation and restoration”.
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30/75 Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu, North Yorkshire
The owners of this charmingly unique North Yorkshire dwelling had been looking for a peaceful site on which to build their retirement home for several years before stumbling upon a farm shed in a wild garden at the edge of a small village.
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31/75 Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu, North Yorkshire
They hired their architect son Greg (handy!) and asked him to pull the landscape into the building’s form, blurring the lines between outside and in.
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32/75 Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu, North Yorkshire
Knowing his parents’ love of books, Greg built this house around a tall, mirrored library that showcases their lifetime’s collection of tomes and reflects the greenery of the garden. Slatted windows allow sunlight to dapple the space. It is so lovely the judges gasped when they saw it.
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33/75 Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu, North Yorkshire
The facade also speaks to nature, the combination of larch cladding and galvanised steel creating a rhythmic effect that echoes the bark of the surrounding silver birch trees.
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34/75 Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu, North Yorkshire
Described by the architects as "a journey of interconnected spaces that alternate between the grand and the intimate…part country cottage, part classical villa” it is also a strong contender for Riba’s prestigious shortlist.
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35/75 The Old Court House by Harrison Brookes Architects, West Midlands
This crumbling 400-year-old house was brought back from the verge of collapse by an authentic restoration that took five years to complete.
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36/75 The Old Court House by Harrison Brookes Architects, West Midlands
In the words of the architect the Grade II-listed house was "more ecosystem than building” when they took it on.
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37/75 The Old Court House by Harrison Brookes Architects, West Midlands
Dating from about 1510, the house had been reduced to its central brick chimney stack, a stone base and badly deteriorated oak frame, which was teetering on one side of the house and entirely gone on the other.
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38/75 The Old Court House by Harrison Brookes Architects, West Midlands
A painstaking archaeological process was undertaken to piece together evidence and salvage everything that could be reassembled safely. This had to be meticulously structured by the architect to ensure that reconstruction techniques were authentic and safe.
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39/75 The Old Court House by Harrison Brookes Architects, West Midlands
"The architect, builder and client have clearly worked with exemplary dedication and professionalism to bring a long-neglected house and piece of local history back to life and create a home of distinctive character," said Riba.
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40/75 Duncan Cottage by James Grayley Architects, Bath
This beautiful Grade II-listed home in Bath, built in 1790 has been given a striking 21st-century extension.
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41/75 Duncan Cottage by James Grayley Architects, Bath
The architect worked closely with local suppliers and contractors to deliver a beautifully-crafted addition which uses tightly jointed Bath stone ashlar for walls and floors.
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42/75 Duncan Cottage by James Grayley Architects, Bath
This has created a timeless and innovative garden room which appears to be carved from a single block.
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43/75 Duncan Cottage by James Grayley Architects, Bath
The internal half flight of stone steps within the loggia amplifies this illusion, creating a space where wall meets floor and seamlessly folds into stair.
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44/75 Duncan Cottage by James Grayley Architects, Bath
"Duncan Cottage demonstrates the value that architecture adds to even the most modest development, updating and transforming an 18th-century listed home to meet 21st-century requirements," said Riba.
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45/75 Coastal House by 6a Architects, South Devon
This early 20th-century house close to the South Devon coastal path has been transformed with elegant restraint.
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46/75 Coastal House by 6a Architects, South Devon
Inside, a winding timber stair rises through the central three storey, top lit atrium creating a series of balconies and terraces.
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47/75 Coastal House by 6a Architects, South Devon
The floor level has been dropped to connect inside and out, elongating existing windows and creating a grand scale for the more public rooms.
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48/75 Coastal House by 6a Architects, South Devon
"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," said Riba.
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49/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
Red House in East Dulwich is one of 20 contemporary, cutting-edge properties longlisted by the Royal Institute of British Architects for House of the Year 2018. Grand Designs will be touring them all every Wednesday night at 9pm on Channel 4...
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50/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
This former garage turned 'sunburnt house' stands out for its success in playfully asserting itself as a modern building in a row of period conversions.
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51/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
It shows respect to its Victorian neighbours by authentically nodding to their design in its decorative detailing.
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52/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
Described by presenter Kevin McCloud as a 'cheeky rebel', it was built from the same red bricks used as accent bricks in the existing terrace, suggesting it belongs on the street despite its high-impact colour.
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53/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
The patterned tiled thresholds of the surrounding homes are echoed in the stunning, intricately-patterned section of facade that sits above an arched window to the side of the understated black entranceway.
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54/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
Inside, a double-height hallway leads into a split-level, three-storey home offering nearly 1,500 sq ft of living space.
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55/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
The architects from 31/44 Architects were faced with complex geometry due to a kink in the road and the angled side of the nextdoor house.
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56/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
They conquered this obstacle by designing an unconventional, sunken ground floor cleverly arranged around courtyards that introduce plenty of light and greenery into the open-plan layout.
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57/75 Red House by 31/44 Architects, East Dulwich
The decoration has been kept simple throughout to give the new owners a blank canvas to stamp their own mark onto.
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58/75 Black Stone House by 6a Architects, Hackney
You get to snoop around two other striking London designs in the first episode of Grand Designs: House of the Year, including Black Stone House in Hackney.
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59/75 Black Stone House by 6a Architects, Hackney
Commissioned by a local café owner, this magnificent, monolithic concrete block has been built on an irregular corner plot at the end of a polite row of townhouses.
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60/75 Black Stone House by 6a Architects, Hackney
Inside are three apartments, all of which have been designed to 'artfully manage privacy'.
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61/75 Black Stone House by 6a Architects, Hackney
Terraces and loggias form outside rooms and huge sliding windows draw in daylight and offer views of sky, garden and the street.
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62/75 Black Stone House by 6a Architects, Hackney
The concrete is warmed up by lime-slurried walls, plywood and ceramics.
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63/75 Dartmouth Park House by AY Architects, Dartmouth Park
Dartmouth Park House a glorious townhouse filled with Nicaraguan mahogany, complete with DJ room, glass-roofed bathroom and a palm tree in the centre.
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64/75 Dartmouth Park House by AY Architects, Dartmouth Park
It involved the redevelopment of an entire Victorian building in north London.
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65/75 Dartmouth Park House by AY Architects, Dartmouth Park
Now, a series of bright spaces are linked by a courtyard, terrace...
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66/75 Dartmouth Park House by AY Architects, Dartmouth Park
...and a statement staircase climbing three-floors through a spectacular, nine-metre high void.
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67/75 Dartmouth Park House by AY Architects, Dartmouth Park
The beautiful, exotic interiors reflect the owners' personal travels and interests. But you'd never know, because outside, the former shop front is discreetly painted grey with smoked glass hiding its theatrical contents.
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68/75 Pheasants by Sarah Griffiths + Amin Taha, Henley
Elsewhere, we're taken to see Pheasants, a glass and Corten steel, modernist riverside home in Henley.
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69/75 Pheasants by Sarah Griffiths + Amin Taha, Henley
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this avant garde home caused uproar among traditional local residents.
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70/75 Pheasants by Sarah Griffiths + Amin Taha, Henley
The owners were eventually granted planning permission, but it's taken more than a decade from inception to completion.
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71/75 Pheasants by Sarah Griffiths + Amin Taha, Henley
Inside is unexpectedly comfortable, full of finely-crafted features, light, and panoramic views.
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72/75 Ouseburn Road by Miller Partnership Architects, Newcastle
Ouseburn Road is two smart semi-detached houses in Newcastle built by neighbours working harmoniously together.
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73/75 Ouseburn Road by Miller Partnership Architects, Newcastle
Both houses were designed by the same team and built through a shared building contract to save money for the owners.
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74/75 Ouseburn Road by Miller Partnership Architects, Newcastle
They share lightwells. external spaces and back gardens. One of the owners is a furniture maker and designed and made the kitchens for both houses.
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75/75 Ouseburn Road by Miller Partnership Architects, Newcastle
Steel, local bricks and polished concrete floors reflect the industrial heritage of the area.
One of the longest pieces of music in history has inspired an avant-garde east London house set to be explored in the next episode of Grand Designs: House of the Year.
Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, architect Damion Burrows and design expert Michelle Ogundehin are currently busy touring the 20 houses in the running to be named the UK’s best new architect-designed home, as judged by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Each episode, Kevin is revealing which two of the featured builds has been shortlisted, before announcing the winner of the prestigious prize at the end of the four-part series on Wednesday 28 November.
Nobody, ourselves included, has been told the results in advance, so you'll have to tune into Channel 4 at 9pm to find out.
The “rebellious” Red House in East Dulwich; the controversial glass and steel Pheasants in Henley; farm shed turned contemporary home Old Shed New House in New Yorkshire; and Coastal House, the modern transformation of an early 20th-century house in South Devon, have already made the shortlist.
But which of the following ambitious restorations, all extreme and pioneering, will be joining them?
VEX
Experimental Vex in Stoke Newington is based on “Vexations” by French composer Erik Satie - a piano piece that repeats 840 times and can take up to 24 hours to perform.
Built from curved fluted concrete, it comprises three large, stacked drums each housing a different function. Spirals, movement and fluidity are what this building’s all about.
The shapes were made using enormous wooden moulds, or shuttering, filled with concrete to form the walls and floors. A layer of corrugated steel wrapped inside cast the rippling surface.
The concrete had to be poured in one continuous circle, meaning the builders to get it right first time, or pull it down and start again. They succeeded, and it is monumental and majestic to look up at.
During the build, London composer Scanner was hired to create an ambient piece of music inspired by the project in return.
Inside, there’s a lower level studio space with two bedrooms above it, an open-plan living room and kitchen above that and a roof terrace on top.
The Riba judges admired how raw and decorative, Brutalist and frilly this building is both outside and in. It pushes at the boundaries of design and comfort yet gets softer and more elegant the higher you climb.
Beautiful oak flooring cosies up the concrete as cathedral-style stairs wind to the top, where a circular roof light acts as a sundial, moving a circle of sunlight across the maing living space and echoing the wheeling nature of the property.
Chance da Silva architects, also known as Wendy and Steve, built Vex themselves as developers and are now looking for a buyer.
They have been renting it out to tenants for nine months, who had to get rid of 80 per cent of their belongings as there is barely any storage. “It’s great for minimalists or people who want to declutter,” they said, sipping on green juices.
The couple transformed the neighbourhood by rescuing a plot that was formerly derelict, rat-infested garages used by locals to dump rubbish on.
Not everybody loves it, but the neighbours agree that it is fantastic to have something so exciting and unique on their street.
LOCHSIDE HOUSE
Found in rugged and remote Scotland, this off-grid crofter’s house blends so seamlessly into its surroundings you’d be hard pushed to find it with a map.
Built from burnt Scottish larch cladding and dry stone walls, it looks like a community of finely-crafted sheds has grown up from the ground.
In fact, it is one single dwelling comprising three bedrooms, a living room and an open-plan kitchen and dining space.
Owner Michelle, an artist, is inspired by nature and dramatic landscapes. Drawn to the freedom of empty, barren places, she admits her lifestyle can be physically demanding.
Everything had to be designed to be small enough to fit on the back of a trailer and driven down the long, off-road track that leads to the site.
Services were unable to reach it, so it’s powered by the sun with water pulled up through a borehole.
Inside, it is pared-back and beautiful, dominated by white oil timber and rough textured plaster.
The delightfully modest rooms are entirely livable and everything flows naturally. The changing height of the ceiling helps designate the different spaces and the view of the lake from the master bedroom is magical.
The Riba judges loved the choice of materials and integration into the wild setting. The roofing echoes the mountains and the walls pick up the horizontal sediments of the rocks.
MAISON WEDGE
This playful house in Northern Ireland is entirely designed around the wedge. There’s a living wedge, a sleeping wedge, window wedges and a patio wedge.
Owners Henry and Denise instructed their architects to be bold and assert the building’s presence on the landscape. Inspired by four years spent living in Switzerland, they wanted simple, clean lines and sharp looks.
The Riba judges were struck by the energy of the shapes and the clever concealing of doors and pipes.
Thoughtful design is everywhere, from the mezzanine viewing box at the top to the downstairs loo with a view.
It’s wedge wonderland, basically.
BLACK HOUSE
Tucked away in the Kent countryside is Black House, made of four daring cantilevered boxes jutting out at different angles.
The kitchen, dining room, living room and bedrooms all have their own boxes.
Built by retired engineer Norman and his wife Tina, it’s a real piece of theatre.
Standing in the kitchen feels like floating in a great white cloud overlooking the orchard below, with mirrored splashbacks reflecting the countryside at all angles.
The minimal dining room overlooks a formal garden and the casual cool living room leads onto the luxurious swimming pool.
The house wraps around a courtyard in the middle that invites the sky in. It’s a tribute to the box, “the purest shape”, according to the architect.
STILL TO COME
Still to come in next week’s final episode are six houses which all use materials in intriguing ways.
In leafy Berkshire, there’s a perfectly-crafted timber box with sleek concrete floors and massive six-metre windows.
Over in Surrey, a 1930s house has been completely revamped with a pale brick and glass modernist extension that blends beautifully into its setting, and an experimental house in London with exposed joists and steel lets the materials its made from take centre stage.
“It's very exciting to be back for a fourth season of Grand Designs: House of the Year with more architectural rich pickings from the very best new homes in the country,” said Kevin.
“Each year, we plot how these exemplars are shaping the architectural landscape of the country and our time as we approach the end of the second decade of the 21st century.
“I say this because although these homes are sometimes expensive and ambitious, they contain ideas and innovation that will help shape the volume housing of the next 20 years — an important reason to watch the series.”
Grand Designs: House of the Year airs at 9pm this Wednesday on Channel 4
