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
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