Now in its 15th year, the annual RIBA House of the Year award (formerly the Manser Medal) is awarded to the best new house designed by an architect in the UK.
It's a sign of the times that this year's seven nominees are being progressively unveiled in a special four-part TV series, Grand Designs: RIBA House of the Year that begins 4 November on Channel 4. Spoiler alert ahead, but the first two nominees are the Flint House and the Sussex House projects.
The first, designed by Skene Catling De La Pena in Buckinghamshire as part of an artists commune, literally rises out of a seam of flint geology, its flint clad masonry creating a silhouette that the architects say 'gives both a feeling of varying geological strata with the building dissolving as it reaches to the sky.'
The second nominee is Sussex House. Wilkinson King Architects' contemporary villa takes full advantage of its bucolic setting in the Sussex countryside - its open plan, muted colour palette, high ceilings and strategically placed windows flood the internal spaces with light to create a mood the architects describe as 'a quiet monastic cloister.'
More nominee announcements to follow and the winner will be crowned on-screen on 25 November. As they say, stay tuned.
The house serves as accommodation for visitors to the estate. Photography: James Morris
A masonry structure, the house is clad in flint, which lends it its name. Photography: James Morris
The house was conceived as a piece of the area's geology, explain the architects. Photography: James Morris
Apart from the main residential element, the structure also includes an annexe. Photography: James Morris
Nominated for RIBA House of the Year, Flint House is an inspirational dwelling that converses with its surroundings. Photography: James Morris
The second nomination is Sussex House by Wilkinson King Architects. Photography: Paul Riddle
This is an exceptional contemporary retreat, featuring a low profile roof formed of pyramidal shapes. Photography: Paul Riddle
This is matched by a minimalist interior, which allows the roof structure to take centre stage. Photography: Paul Riddle
A double height central void, including a dramatic staircase, form the heart of the house. Photography: Paul Riddle
-
Formafantasma’s biodiversity-boosting installation in a Perrier Jouët vineyard is cross-pollination at its bestFormafantasma and Perrier Jouët unveil the first project in their ‘Cohabitare’ initiative, ‘not only a work of art but also a contribution to the ecosystem’
-
Gingerbread City: architects sculpt London out of the season's favourite treatUntil December 29 in Chelsea, see London brought to life in a seasonal-appropriate medium by leading architects and designers
-
New Revox B77 MK III reel-to-reel tape recorder, and more cassette tape-based trickeryThe new Revox B77 MK III might be the ultimate analogue flex. In response, we’ve explored the outer reaches of cassette tape design
-
The RIBA House of the Year 2024 winner is a delightful work in progressThe winner of the RIBA House of the Year 2024 is Six Columns in south London – the home of architect and 31/44 studio co-founder William Burges
-
RIBA International Prize 2024 goes to 'radical housing' in BarcelonaRIBA International Prize 2024 has been announced, and the winner is Modulus Matrix: 85 Social Housing in Cornellà, designed by Peris + Toral Arquitectes in Barcelona
-
Meet the 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner: Livyj Bereh from UkraineThe 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner has been crowned: congratulations to architecture collective Livyj Bereh from Ukraine, praised for its rebuilding efforts during the ongoing war in the country
-
RIBA House of the Year 2024: browse the shortlist and pick your favourite
The RIBA House of the Year 2024 shortlist is out, celebrating homes across the UK: it's time to place your bets. Which will win the top gong?
-
2024 Obel Award goes to 36x36 by Colectivo C733 in MexicoThe 2024 Obel Award winner has been announced, crowning 36x36 by Colectivo C733 in Mexico as this year's recipients
-
The 2024 RIBA Reinvention Award, Muyiwa Oki, and making reuse ‘more special than ever’The shortlist for the 2024 RIBA Reinvention Award has been announced today; we caught up with the institute’s president Muyiwa Oki to discuss the honour
-
Shigeru Ban wins 2024 Praemium Imperiale Architecture AwardThe 2024 Praemium Imperiale Architecture Award goes to Japanese architect Shigeru Ban
-
SANAA scoops 2025 Charlotte Perriand AwardThe 2025 Charlotte Perriand Award has been awarded to Japanese architecture studio SANAA
