Skip to playerSkip to main content
NovaStream
  • 5 hours ago
Transcript
00:00Hello, and here's the weather.
00:02For today's forecast, expect scattered flashes of design brilliance
00:06with prolonged periods of architectural showmanship.
00:09There's a strong chance of concrete at ground level,
00:12timber cladding moving eastwards and intermittent glimpses of polished terrazzo.
00:17Light will play a key role, occasionally dappled, frequently dramatic
00:21and sometimes rather boldly emerging from beneath the stairs.
00:26Temperatures are set to rise in kitchens with underfloor heating,
00:29particularly where there's a hidden wine fridge.
00:31Wind resistance may be tested in houses built on stilts.
00:36And viewers are advised to take shelter immediately if anyone talks about flow.
00:42Welcome to House of the Year.
00:45The competition is hotting up for the Royal Institute of British Architects' House of the Year
00:51as we welcome the last batch of long-listed homes.
00:56That's clever. Oh, heavens.
00:57The pressure's building, and the competition is fiercer than ever for a place on the shortlist.
01:03Oh, this is really, really good.
01:06From houses that were built whilst under attack from midges...
01:10We had to hide in a caravan for an afternoon.
01:13Three grown men hiding in a caravan.
01:16To homes that were built to the strictest of tolerances...
01:20Tim is known as Millimetre Tim in the business round.
01:23The houses we explore will be whittled down to a shortlist of just seven.
01:28I mean, what the heck?
01:30At the end, we'll discover which will be House of the Year 2025.
01:37So get ready.
01:38Grease all nipples and lubricate all joints.
01:40So far, five homes have claimed their place on the shortlist.
02:07Kirk and the Craig on the Isle of Harris.
02:11Hastings House, a triumph of engineering and elegance.
02:15And Triangle House, a house that takes you to the Caribbean.
02:19Then there's a Mento, a carefully crafted cruciform family home.
02:24And Jank's Barn, a barn conversion that keeps its character.
02:29There are two places left on the shortlist and five more buildings to explore.
02:37Snooping around these homes with me is the architect Damien Burrows.
02:42To have a courtyard garden here is quite something.
02:47And the conservation architect, Natasha Huck.
02:50Oh, wow, look at this.
02:52Some houses are born beautiful.
02:57Some acquire beauty.
02:58Others have beauty thrust upon them.
03:01Usually by an architect with a bold vision and a host of power tools.
03:05This category is all about transformation.
03:08And not the kind that involves a new doormat and a pharaoh and ball tester bot.
03:13These are epic, drafty bungalows, weary barns, structures long past their prime.
03:20Reimagined, reconfigured and re-emerged as architectural swans.
03:25They've been wrapped in zinc, filled with light, given poetry, purpose and soul.
03:31Oh, it's so stirring.
03:33I'm beginning to feel it'll transform myself.
03:35I might start wearing linen.
03:37Barth is experiencing a transformation of its own.
03:44You come here for Jordan grandeur, creamy stone and the odd bit of Regency cosplay.
03:50You don't come here for bungalows.
03:55But maybe you should.
03:58This is a house of wood shingle.
04:01A bungalow utterly transformed with a new skin of timber.
04:05Thousands of pieces of it.
04:12Hi.
04:13Hi.
04:13Good to meet you.
04:14Hi.
04:14The owners are Celia and Keith.
04:17Excellent place to be living.
04:20It's sort of becolic and befits a wooden house, I suppose.
04:24You've got a little shingle wooden house in the woods.
04:26Yes.
04:26Yeah.
04:27Yeah.
04:28It used to be a 1960s kind of low-energy bungalow.
04:34As we said, low-energy has been really poor...
04:36Poor energy.
04:37Poor, yeah.
04:37Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:38Yeah.
04:39And then we wanted to kind of upgrade it, retrofit it, so that we could put in some sustainable
04:44heating elements.
04:46Yeah.
04:47And then the shingle came along as a kind of cladding to cover all the insulation.
04:52But it looks beautiful.
04:53It is beautiful.
04:53It looks beautiful.
04:54Because they're coarsed.
04:55Yeah.
04:56They're not, you know, dropping and rising.
04:58So they're coarsed.
04:59Yeah.
05:00And, of course, they're overlapped so that the joints are always staggered.
05:04Yeah.
05:04If we did it again on a bungalow, I think it's not the place to do the cedar shingle because
05:09it's such a vast kind of amount of square meterage.
05:13Yeah.
05:13But it is beautiful.
05:15And from a drone shot, it looks great.
05:18When you're working with an architect, you're quite often taking a sort of godlike view of
05:24it.
05:24So you're seeing 3D models and you're looking and you're kind of seeing a building in a
05:29way that you never really truly see.
05:31You go around to someone's house and knock on the door and they say, come in, would you
05:34like the tour?
05:36And you say, no, not really.
05:37Actually, now I've just come to see you.
05:39Yeah.
05:40But when people come here, you should just say, would you like to see the roof?
05:43Yeah.
05:43Yeah.
05:43We've got a ladder here.
05:44We've got a ladder, yeah.
05:45Get up there.
05:46It's a hidden asset, isn't it?
05:48A hidden beauty, a hidden gem.
05:49Hidden money pit.
05:51Yeah, OK.
05:55More like an investment, I'd say.
06:00Along the back of the house are the three children's rooms and parents' bedroom suite,
06:05all connected by a vaulted corridor with skylights that leads to the new entrance hall.
06:11At the near end of the front half is the glass-walled kitchen diner.
06:16Next to that is a TV room.
06:19And at the far end is the living room with views across the valley.
06:29Inside, this place does not feel like a conventional bungalow, compartmentalized and closed off.
06:35No, instead, you can see down the length of the building.
06:39It feels connected and open.
06:42It's really neat.
06:45Really neat.
06:47Celia and Keith's architect has pulled off a clever trick, too,
06:50in the way he's divided up the house.
06:52So this entire depth, this is social space.
06:59Yeah.
06:59Yes.
06:59And then all the rooms behind this are all the cellular bedrooms.
07:03Yeah.
07:06The living and sleeping spaces are separated by a corridor that divides the building into two.
07:12We can kind of close it off so that this space is completely separate from the rooms at the back.
07:18Yeah.
07:19It's almost like the back part of the house is what would traditionally be like the upstairs of a building,
07:25and then this front part is like the downstairs.
07:27So we continue that separation even though it's all on one level.
07:31Walking through the kitchen and down to the sunken living room, your perspective suddenly shifts.
07:40Oh, yes, down some steps.
07:43Oh, so the whole thing kind of expands.
07:47It lifts as you walk into it.
07:49Oh, it's like two or three and a half meters or something, that sheet of glass.
07:53So you step down into a sort of sky observatory, really.
07:58Yeah, which is actually kind of almost exactly split across the middle,
08:03so the horizon cuts halfway across those windows.
08:07These clouds suddenly appear to be more powerful because you're framing this kind of great skyscape.
08:17What I love about this place is the variety of experiences that it offers.
08:22No two rooms in here are the same.
08:23From a room which just grabs that huge, expansive landscape and that view to Wales beyond,
08:30to the most intimate, private window that's nestled into the hillside.
08:37And then into this.
08:38Oh, my Lord.
08:40This is the first bungalow I've ever seen that has a sort of ecclesiastical corridor
08:44with little cellular rooms off.
08:47It's like being in a monastery with these fantastic, clear-story lights that just grab sunshine,
08:58and run it into the building.
09:02I don't know why I'm whispering.
09:04Forgive me, bungalow, for I have stared.
09:10But beauty like this doesn't come easy.
09:13The process of making it can floor you.
09:18It was a long process.
09:20Yeah.
09:20And getting materials to the side, I mean, just the logistics of being here.
09:24That was tough.
09:25And I think we had, you know, quite a few phone calls.
09:27Because a private drive sounds like a nice idea.
09:30Yeah.
09:30Until you kind of realise that you can't get a big truck or lorry down the drive,
09:35and they've left everything on a pallet half a mile away.
09:39Yeah.
09:40Or just refuse to deliver stuff.
09:42So there's a couple of kind of delivery drivers that we knew they could get in
09:47with one of their kind of grabbers and drop stuff off.
09:49They've gone to a lot of trouble reinterpreting this bungalow.
09:59This underrated building form, now reimagined,
10:04is once again taking its place in the spotlight.
10:08I suppose we think of bungalows as being background buildings, don't we?
10:12You know, part of the supporting cast of the theatre of architecture
10:18that makes our cities and our towns.
10:21But what this place demonstrates is you can take an individual
10:25from that supporting cast.
10:28You can believe in them, remodel them, reclothe them.
10:32You can give them a script that works for them,
10:35and you can transform them into a glamorous, eloquent, witty centre-stage star.
10:52We've seen one shape-shifting home so far.
10:55Four more to see before we find out which will be shortlisted
10:59for the House of the Year 2025.
11:05The next longlister we're visiting in our Incredible Transformations category
11:17is in Suffolk.
11:19I'm off to see it.
11:22It's an exciting new set of buildings
11:25that transforms not something that was already there,
11:28but the very way we could build our homes.
11:31Most homes squeeze all of their functions underneath one single roof.
11:38But I'm off to see a home that transforms that very idea.
11:43Four different buildings, four separate functions, and one family.
11:49Welcome to Housestead.
11:51Housestead is four buildings arranged around a cross shape
12:06in a central courtyard.
12:08To the south is a glazed thatch living pavilion
12:11with a kitchen dining area, a lounge, and bathroom.
12:15To the west is a solid brick working block
12:17containing a main bedroom with ensuite and office above.
12:21To the east is the sleeping block
12:23with five children's bedrooms and a guest bedroom.
12:27There is also a greenhouse structure to the front
12:30which acts as a winter garden.
12:32The corrugated metal north building is the utility block
12:35with a boiler room, garage, general store,
12:38and upper-level hangout.
12:41The owners are architect, husband, and wife,
12:44Amir and Abigail.
12:45All of the elements of the building are so far apart.
12:49What was the idea behind that?
12:51One's a living function, one's a sleeping function,
12:54one's utility, and one's work and study studio.
12:59It's really to sort of create four distinct zones
13:01where you have to go outside,
13:03experience the outdoors between the different functions.
13:06It wouldn't suit everybody,
13:08but I think if you enjoy being outdoors,
13:11you want a way of keeping a large family together
13:15as families develop.
13:17I think for us it's working brilliantly.
13:22As the children grow older,
13:23they can have their own space
13:25and come together with the adults here.
13:27This is the living block
13:29where the family can eat, chat, and socialize.
13:33It's part sitting room, part kitchen, part dining space
13:37with a mezzanine floating above.
13:40All gloriously open plan.
13:44Oh, hello.
13:45This is...
13:47Oh, my word, it's stunning.
13:50The thatched roof seems to float
13:53on improbably thin seal columns.
13:55We wanted everything to be as light as possible
13:57so it's not detracting from the view.
13:59Nothing is bigger than it needs to be,
14:01so, you know, it's been finely engineered.
14:04Steel could have felt like a cold,
14:06industrial material to use here,
14:09but it doesn't,
14:10thanks to the clever colour choice,
14:12Suffolk Pink,
14:13a colour used on buildings in the area.
14:16The Suffolk Pink came from
14:18the fact that they used pig's blood
14:20to become the sort of binding material.
14:24In a lime wash,
14:25so, you know,
14:25you mix protein and lime
14:27and it reacts
14:28and it creates the Suffolk Pink,
14:30so this is dragging Suffolk Pink
14:31into the 21st century.
14:33This is giving it a bit of oomph.
14:34Exactly, yeah.
14:36And it's the last thing people expect
14:38when they walk in here.
14:39Yes.
14:39This is a gorgeous pink.
14:40This is a gorgeous pink.
14:45Then, outside to another extraordinary building
14:48in this 21st century house stead.
14:51So, we've come from a traditional thatch roof
14:55to lunar space module.
14:58You called it a lunar module landing
15:00and the way it was constructed
15:02really was very lunar-like.
15:03It was built in the area where we parked the cars,
15:07assembled, and then raised by a crane
15:09and very lightly popped onto the roof,
15:12bolted down.
15:13In one section?
15:14The whole thing was built,
15:15bar the staircase,
15:17in the whole thing was built,
15:18raised up and popped down.
15:19It's great fun watching it go up.
15:21You have people reporting it,
15:23like, there's a spacecraft landing next door.
15:25It was a giant step for Suffolk.
15:28It's very much a lookout.
15:30It's very much a place for us
15:31to get away from everything else,
15:33but also our studio.
15:34And it's quite high up.
15:36Not quite 33 steps,
15:37but it's 31 steps.
15:39It's a very nice journey,
15:40and you actually feel
15:40that you're just getting away from everything.
15:42You can go up there and just escape.
15:44Pick up a book, finish off a project.
15:47Curiouser and curiouser.
15:49From a space oddity
15:50to a greenhouse built into a bedroom wing.
15:53Nothing conventional about that, either.
15:58This is a thermal camera,
16:00and it's a great way of showing
16:02exactly where the heat is in a house.
16:04Now, in a normal home,
16:05you'd expect to see hot spots
16:07around the radiators and chimney flues.
16:09But if we take a look down here...
16:12Wow.
16:14It's off the charts hot.
16:16By design, incredibly,
16:18this glazed corridor helps heat the hot water
16:21for the whole house.
16:23So we've got a sort of glazed corridor
16:26that is designed to get very hot during the day
16:29and helps provide us with all our hot water.
16:32So you've got all this hot air here.
16:35It's rising up through there,
16:37passing over the copper pipes
16:38and just heating up your hot water.
16:40Heating up the hot water.
16:41Meanwhile, the bedrooms behind
16:42remain really beautifully cool.
16:44Yeah, the temperature difference.
16:46You can really feel it, can't you?
16:47Yeah.
16:48You're in a greenhouse.
16:49I am.
16:50Oh, as soon as you come through here.
16:54As soon as you just look really cool.
16:56Just calm.
16:57It's really cool and calm.
16:59The transition between the cool, the hot
17:01and outside into the fresh
17:03in such a short distance of time,
17:06it's quite something.
17:08That's thanks to the thick timber walls
17:10between the greenhouse
17:11and the bedrooms which contain the heat.
17:14Ingenious engineering, thoughtful design
17:16and a love of innovation
17:18are all things to be admired about this house.
17:21Like all good things, though,
17:23Amir and Abigail had to wait for it.
17:26We didn't finish.
17:28We didn't arrive when it had finished
17:29because we first moved in
17:31when the building had power but no lighting.
17:35So we camped.
17:36We camped for quite a long time
17:37and we rigged up lights
17:39and because we wanted to be here,
17:41we moved in at the very first opportunity.
17:44So it's been very much an adventure, really.
17:48The children have been very patient.
17:51But now, now it feels like it's properly finished.
17:55There's this thing called Suffolk time
17:57that we didn't know about
17:58but we kind of managed to work with it
18:00and it's very different to London time.
18:05Well, Suffolk time is, you know,
18:07things happen when they happen often.
18:10Not necessarily that we'd be aware
18:11that they're going to happen when they happen
18:13but they do happen.
18:15They happen to a very good standard.
18:16I'll say this is a family home
18:22for the 21st century
18:24where children and adults each have their own space.
18:28Whether it's the utility block
18:30with its games room above
18:31or the private bedroom wings
18:33where everyone can retreat when they need to
18:36and then when they're ready
18:38they gather
18:39to cook, to eat, to live together.
18:44The Watchtower
18:45The Thatched Glaze Pavilion
18:48The Nissen Hut
18:50Individually, these are striking
18:53odd
18:54even a little eccentric
18:56but together
18:57they form something
18:59that is unique
19:00and compelling.
19:02They form architecture
19:04that is bold
19:05inventive
19:07and entirely personal.
19:10We've seen
19:11two remarkable transformations so far.
19:15Three more to go
19:16before we find out
19:16which will be shortlisted
19:18for the House of the Year 2025.
19:26Some things
19:30just seem understated.
19:32A navy blue Vauxhall
19:34a pair of traditional brogues
19:36Geoff
19:37from the parish council
19:38and then
19:40then you look closer
19:41and you discover
19:42that Geoff
19:42is actually a belly dancer
19:44and that the brogues
19:45are handmade in Florence
19:46and that the Vauxhall
19:48does 0-60 in Lesson 5.
19:50Think of our next
19:56longlister as Geoff.
19:58It's in the quiet
19:59rolling hills of Somerset.
20:01It used to look like this
20:03before it was knocked down
20:05and was reborn
20:06as this.
20:12Definitely an upgrade.
20:15This is the orchards.
20:16The house is mostly
20:20single story
20:21stepping down gently
20:23with the landscape.
20:24You enter into
20:25a wide hallway
20:26the heart of the home
20:27which leads one way
20:28to the public spaces
20:29and the other
20:29to the private wing.
20:31In the public area
20:33there's an open plan
20:33kitchen, dining
20:34and living space
20:35which opens onto
20:37a veranda.
20:38A flexible room nearby
20:39serves as a playroom,
20:41gym or guest space.
20:43In the private wing
20:44there are two
20:45children's bedrooms
20:46a family bathroom
20:47and a main bedroom suite
20:49at the far end.
20:50There's also a small
20:51upper level guest room.
20:54It's home to
20:54Jonathan and Kirsty.
20:56Hi.
20:57Hi.
20:57Kirsty, right?
20:58Yes.
20:59Hi.
20:59Hi, nice to meet you.
21:00And you too, Jonathan.
21:01Jonathan.
21:03This building
21:04catches you off guard
21:05and that's entirely
21:07the point.
21:08Sometimes buildings
21:09are really loud
21:10and, you know,
21:11they assert themselves
21:12and this one
21:12does the opposite.
21:14Right up until the moment
21:15you sort of get to there.
21:17It's a low-key entrance
21:18and I think that
21:19that fits us.
21:20We're sort of
21:21flashy on the inside people.
21:26You walk in
21:27to a beautiful
21:28open plan kitchen.
21:30The RIBA judges
21:31admired the
21:32restrained material palette
21:34and touches
21:35a luxury inside
21:36a home that was
21:37respectful to
21:38its rural setting.
21:38It's really nice,
21:41isn't it?
21:42And they've taken
21:43special measures
21:44to keep it that way
21:45to defend it
21:46from the ravages
21:47of children.
21:49What is that
21:49kitchen tabletop
21:50made from?
21:51Is that stainless steel?
21:53Yep.
21:53Yes, stainless steel.
21:54Giant piece.
21:55Four or five millimetres thick.
21:57How did that materialise?
21:59This was your one.
22:00I think one of our themes
22:02throughout the whole house
22:03was it's got to be robust.
22:05Yeah.
22:05If it looks perfect
22:06on day one
22:06but gets beaten up
22:08by family life
22:09it just won't work for us.
22:10And you've got another
22:11one over there
22:11which is just as
22:12reflective and beautiful
22:13and that's hugely long.
22:14Is that one piece of steel?
22:16It is one giant piece.
22:17One single piece of steel.
22:18I don't think we knew it
22:19when we set out
22:20to make it
22:21but there's only one place
22:22in the country
22:23who could cope
22:23with a piece of steel
22:24that long.
22:27But this room
22:28isn't just built
22:29to be durable.
22:30It hides a few
22:31playful secrets.
22:33Is that a door
22:34that thing
22:35that great big
22:35piece of wall?
22:36One of our few
22:37kid-free spaces.
22:41So the little one
22:42didn't realise
22:43this was an actual room
22:44for what
22:45four or five months
22:45of being here
22:46because we kept
22:47that door closed
22:47and then it blew
22:48her little mind
22:49one day
22:49when her brother
22:50had left it open
22:51and she discovered
22:51this whole extra space.
22:52How she was going to grow
22:53it was such a complex
22:55about deprivation
22:56about being the junior
22:57excluded member
22:58of the family.
22:59Or the joy
23:00of what's behind the door.
23:02Or that yeah
23:02or she'll just love
23:03surprises yeah.
23:04In this house
23:07no room
23:08is quite
23:09what you think
23:09it is.
23:10One stayed
23:11hidden for months
23:11behind a barely
23:12noticed door
23:13and the corridor
23:15turns out
23:16it's doing
23:17far more
23:17than getting
23:18you from A to B.
23:20So this is
23:21the corridor
23:21stroke street.
23:23Yes.
23:24Sort of
23:25public highway.
23:26It's almost
23:27become an extra room.
23:28It's where
23:28kids come out
23:29the bathroom
23:30we get them dry
23:31dry hair
23:32brush teeth
23:33spend a lot of time
23:35in this as a space.
23:36You've got
23:37a place
23:38where they can
23:38easily come out
23:39and put on plays
23:40and have a chat
23:41and create a den
23:42and I've read somewhere
23:44that every house
23:45should have at least
23:46one space big enough
23:47to get a toddler
23:47up to full speed.
23:48Those bits in between
23:52the not quite a room
23:53liminal spaces
23:54are what I find
23:56most interesting
23:56about this house.
23:58These are the bits
23:58that quietly
23:59steal the show.
24:01We love to have
24:02labels for rooms
24:03and the moment
24:04it hasn't got a label
24:05the moment it's ambiguous
24:06we worry that it's
24:08wasteful.
24:09It's been a surprise
24:10but yeah we
24:11we really live in those
24:12in between spaces.
24:15The rooms themselves
24:16aren't too shabby either.
24:19Full of personality
24:20and fun
24:21that was important
24:22to the architect
24:23Graham Bisley.
24:25Each room has a
24:26different character
24:27by what you see outside.
24:29That bathroom's
24:30almost like a little chapel
24:31you kind of go in
24:31and the timber screen
24:33as you go in
24:33is a cross shape
24:34and you go through
24:35and there's this
24:35little side chapel
24:36which is the shower.
24:37Everyday experience
24:39should be pleasurable
24:40it's not just
24:41a functional thing
24:42walking out of your room
24:43and going for breakfast
24:44or whatever
24:44you can have an experience
24:46on that journey.
24:48This is a house
24:50that is thoughtful
24:51and full of surprise.
24:55It's calm
24:56but never dull.
24:58Every corner
24:59has been considered.
25:01Every detail
25:02earns its place.
25:03and the result
25:07is silently special
25:09a home that works
25:10and one that keeps
25:12getting better
25:12the longer you spend
25:13time here.
25:14This is a quiet house.
25:19You know it has its cholera
25:20and its eyes to the ground
25:22as it slowly slips its way
25:25through the grasses
25:27in the orchard.
25:29But you know
25:30it may be quiet
25:31but it is also resilient
25:34and it's playful
25:35and it is strong
25:39and in places
25:40it's also ambiguous
25:41I mean it works a magic
25:43and I'm sure
25:44that if I spent time here
25:45in its company
25:46my blood pressure
25:48would lower
25:49and I would perhaps
25:50be more at peace
25:51with myself
25:52and even perhaps
25:54a little happier
25:55which makes it
25:57a really transformative building.
26:08Oh!
26:09You know you turn up
26:10at a party
26:10and somebody's just
26:12looking fantastic
26:13and you think
26:14what is it?
26:15Is it their hair?
26:16They've got new glasses?
26:17They've been to the dentist?
26:18What is it?
26:19And then you realise
26:21they sort of just know
26:22what they're doing.
26:23It's just a gentle
26:24all over
26:25even lift.
26:26Yeah.
26:29Right, this next place.
26:33I'm in London
26:34looking at our next
26:36long lister.
26:38This is a house
26:39that's being transformed
26:41but rather than being
26:42turned into something
26:43completely new
26:44it's been redefined
26:46as a sophisticated
26:46version of itself.
26:50This was an unremarkable
26:521960s terraced house.
26:54now crafted into a piece
26:57of iconic looking
26:581960s modernist architecture.
27:02The judges were awestruck
27:03by the fact it retained
27:04the character
27:05of the original building
27:06yet was completely remade.
27:09In this masterfully
27:11reworked home
27:12the ground floor
27:13is a spacious
27:14double height
27:14kitchen dining room
27:15with a utility room
27:17and toilet next to it.
27:18on the first floor
27:21is a living room
27:22with outside balcony
27:23and a cosy snug.
27:26On the second floor
27:26are the two children's
27:27bedrooms
27:28and a bathroom
27:28and on the third floor
27:31is the adult bedroom
27:32with en suite.
27:38The architect
27:38who realised
27:39this extraordinary vision
27:40was Dingle Price.
27:42Hi Dingle.
27:43Hi, welcome.
27:44Thanks, how are you?
27:45Well, you?
27:46You arrive
27:47into a small corridor
27:48above our stairs
27:50up to a living room
27:51and balcony
27:51bedroom and bathroom
27:53but the real magic
27:55is at ground floor level.
27:57It's so lush.
27:58The view teasingly
28:01opens out
28:01over the kitchen
28:02and dining room
28:02to an incredible
28:03garden beyond.
28:06What was here before?
28:08There was a kitchen
28:09on the left side
28:09and on the right
28:10there was a dining area
28:12and of course
28:12it was all
28:13at the same level.
28:16It began
28:17as a bog standard
28:181960s house.
28:20Now Dingle
28:20has remade it
28:21in the language
28:22of brutalism
28:23the cutting edge
28:24of high-end design
28:25in the 60s
28:26when exposed concrete
28:27and bold form
28:28were the height
28:29of architectural fashion.
28:32A lot of the concrete
28:33in the building
28:33is exposing beams
28:35that were already there
28:36but were uncovered
28:37but then we've also
28:38introduced a certain
28:39amount of new concrete.
28:41It's only when you
28:42get to ground level
28:43you can fully appreciate
28:45this extraordinary room.
28:48There's so much drama
28:49to this space
28:50I mean the height
28:51of the ceilings
28:52and then this view
28:53out to this lush garden
28:54I mean it's really
28:55unexpected.
28:57What did you have to do
28:57to create it?
28:58Well the key to it
28:59is the excavation.
29:00It was a Victorian building
29:01that stood on this site.
29:03Oh the building
29:04before the 1960s building?
29:06It just turned out
29:07that the original building
29:08had very very deep
29:09foundations
29:09and that meant
29:11relatively easily
29:12we could dig away
29:13the earth
29:14to create this high space.
29:15So we've excavated
29:16a metre and a half
29:17down from the original
29:18ground floor level.
29:21But from then on
29:22Dingle had set himself
29:23an incredibly hard task
29:25by choosing to keep
29:26everything exposed.
29:28It's a project
29:28with no paint.
29:30Everything is the
29:31exposed materials
29:32which goes back
29:33to this sort of
29:34original idea
29:35of brutalism.
29:36But because of that
29:37you know
29:38it's very unforgiving
29:39if you put
29:39a light switch
29:40in the wrong place
29:41you can't
29:42just move it
29:43and repaint
29:44you end up
29:45basically having
29:46to replaster
29:47the whole wall.
29:49There was nowhere
29:50to hide mistakes
29:51no layer
29:52that could cover
29:52them up.
29:53Not the usual way
29:54of doing things
29:55the contractor
29:56wasn't convinced
29:57to begin with.
29:59If I'm honest
30:00we actually thought
30:02Dingle was going mad
30:03everything was experimental.
30:05It was definitely
30:05a challenge
30:06and it's not the way
30:07we usually do our projects
30:08because you know
30:09it costs a lot more money
30:10to experiment.
30:12I guess the most
30:13difficult for us
30:15was when we
30:16stripped the structure
30:17back to its
30:18original block work
30:20and brick work
30:21we couldn't
30:22see the vision.
30:25But who could argue
30:26with the elegance
30:27of the end result?
30:29Though what looks
30:30effortless now
30:31took days of trial
30:32and error
30:32that tested the limits
30:34of everyone involved.
30:36It's the level
30:36of craft, care
30:37and control here
30:38that makes this retrofit
30:40so quietly radical.
30:44Everything about
30:45this house
30:46challenges
30:46what we would
30:47normally expect
30:48from a 1960s infill
30:50from brutalist materials
30:51and from a retrofit
30:52instead of clearing
30:54everything away
30:55the architect
30:55has made subtle
30:56adjustments
30:57to what was here
30:58completely transforming
30:59the space
31:00and really making
31:00the most
31:01of the character
31:02of the existing house.
31:05We've seen
31:06four houses so far
31:07transformed beautifully
31:09in different ways.
31:10There's one more
31:11to go before we find out
31:12which will make
31:13the shortlist
31:13and then from all
31:15those shortlisted homes
31:16we'll discover
31:17which one
31:18will win the title
31:19for the house
31:19of the year
31:202025.
31:30A key part
31:31of the architectural
31:33imagination
31:33is seeing
31:35how something
31:36can be transformed
31:37to look at a building
31:38that's unloved
31:39and unused
31:40and imagined it
31:41as a place
31:41entirely new.
31:43Now this building
31:45built by the architects
31:47Tonkin knew
31:47began life
31:48as a rusty old
31:50water tower.
31:51They had the vision
31:52to transform it
31:53to turn the concrete
31:55stem
31:56into a staircase
31:57and the sealed tank
31:58at the top
31:59into this
32:00beautiful living room
32:02with the best seats
32:04in the house.
32:04I mean literally
32:05it is a bold bit
32:07of rethinking
32:08but our next
32:09longlister
32:10they've pulled off
32:12something arguably
32:12even more extreme.
32:17Once upon a time
32:19on the Isle of Wight
32:20in the early 1900s
32:22a humble cowshed
32:24was built
32:25with slurry underfoot
32:28hay overhead
32:30and the occasional
32:31swallow nesting
32:32in the rafters.
32:34A hundred years later
32:37it was deserted
32:38derelict
32:39and forgotten
32:40until
32:42Joseph
32:43an artist
32:43and academic
32:44learned about it.
32:46I saw some photographs
32:47and I was
32:48immediately attracted
32:49so much so
32:51that I told the kids
32:52I'll be back
32:53in an hour
32:53I identified
32:54where the barn was
32:56got in the car
32:57came here
32:58let myself in
33:00it was open
33:01sort of
33:01and stood
33:03in the courtyard
33:04and thought
33:04like
33:04this is where
33:06I want to live.
33:09And so
33:10the old
33:11buyer
33:11was born
33:12an extraordinary
33:13transformation
33:14one that keeps
33:16much of what was
33:16there before
33:17but gently adds
33:18newer elements.
33:21The space
33:21we're in at the moment
33:22is where I socialize
33:23and where I cook
33:24and where I spend
33:25the day
33:25and spend time
33:26with friends
33:26this is a really
33:28open space
33:29whereas
33:30the other barn
33:31the 19th century barn
33:33has smaller
33:34more intimate spaces
33:36my library
33:38corridors
33:41spaces for sleeping
33:43bathroom
33:46and spaces
33:48that can be used
33:49as studios
33:50so in their nature
33:53they're very very
33:54different
33:54the old
33:56buyer
33:56is in fact
33:57not one
33:58but two
33:59barns
33:59one built
34:00in the early
34:001900s
34:01the other
34:02in the 1960s
34:03the newer barn
34:04houses the main
34:05living space
34:06a bright open
34:07kitchen
34:07a generous
34:08dining area
34:09and a calm
34:10stripped back
34:10lounge
34:11the older
34:13L-shaped barn
34:14holds the bedrooms
34:15and a couple
34:15of quiet
34:16studio spaces
34:17the RIBA
34:19judges
34:19admired the
34:20contrasts
34:21this project
34:22offered
34:22where new
34:23and old
34:23materials
34:24and structures
34:24sit comfortably
34:26alongside each other
34:27nowhere more so
34:29than in the main
34:30living and working
34:30space
34:31the roof
34:33is pretty much
34:34as it was
34:35we reinforced it
34:36visibly mended it
34:38where we had to
34:39there are still
34:41remnants of
34:42what is probably
34:43cow poo
34:44on the wall
34:45there is a swallow's nest
34:46there is hair
34:47there are old nails
34:48so all of this
34:49is still
34:50in the walls
34:51the construction
34:52approach was
34:53deliberately as
34:54rough and ready
34:55as the original
34:56building itself
34:57the doors came
34:58from Spain
35:00I think
35:00which took a long
35:02time
35:02one of the doors
35:03didn't quite fit
35:04so I rang the
35:06builder and a few
35:07hours later it was
35:07sorted
35:08I think they shaved
35:09a little bit off
35:10the door frame
35:10or the door
35:11or either
35:12I'm not going to
35:14ask
35:14one of the
35:16greatest
35:17interventions here
35:18is what they've
35:19done to the
35:20front of the
35:20building
35:20by day
35:22it brings in
35:23soft light
35:24by night
35:26it glows
35:29the facade
35:31that faces the
35:32courtyard is made
35:32from polycarbonate
35:33so it looks like
35:34paper
35:34it lets light in
35:37and brings light
35:38into the space
35:38this insulated
35:41facade cost an
35:42eye-watering
35:4217 grand
35:44a unique expense
35:45in what was
35:45otherwise a
35:46cost-conscious
35:47home built
35:47for 360,000
35:49extraordinary
35:50for a project
35:51of this ambition
35:51the budget
35:54was tight
35:54but that
35:56led to
35:57most of the
35:58decisions we
35:59made about
35:59everything
36:00I don't think
36:00there's anything
36:01where we thought
36:02we're going to
36:02spend more
36:03on this element
36:04so we tested
36:05thoroughly
36:06the costs
36:07of different
36:07approaches
36:08and that's
36:09how we made
36:09decisions
36:10so now I
36:11wouldn't say
36:11it was to do
36:12with spending
36:14more on
36:14certain elements
36:15the old
36:22buyer is
36:22masterful
36:23not a glossy
36:24reinterpretation
36:26of raw rusticity
36:27new materials
36:28and ideas
36:29have here
36:29been finely
36:30tuned
36:31to an
36:31appropriate
36:32level
36:32of humility
36:33with that
36:34comes a
36:35gentle
36:35brutal
36:36honesty
36:36it's a
36:37cowshed
36:38made livable
36:38not just
36:39through
36:39redesign
36:40but in
36:41the refusal
36:41to lie
36:42about what
36:42it ever
36:43was
36:43why did
36:46I keep
36:46the swallow's
36:46nest
36:47what would
36:47be the
36:48advantage
36:49of removing
36:49it
36:50like I
36:50would take
36:51away
36:51a story
36:51of the
36:52building
36:52we've
37:01explored
37:01five
37:02remarkable
37:02homes
37:03so far
37:03but which
37:04will earn
37:05their place
37:05on the
37:06coveted
37:06shortlist
37:07the house
37:08of wood
37:09shingle
37:09a 60s bungalow
37:11wrapped head
37:11to toe
37:11in timber
37:12part house
37:13part hedgehog
37:14house
37:15stead
37:16four
37:16buildings
37:17one
37:17family home
37:18a place
37:19that rewrites
37:20the idea
37:20of what a
37:21house
37:21is
37:21the orchards
37:24barn on the
37:25outside
37:25bond lair
37:26on the
37:27inside
37:27London brute
37:29a concrete wedge
37:30in a polite
37:31London postcoat
37:32brutalism
37:33with a posh
37:34accent
37:34the old
37:36buyer
37:36a luminous
37:38barn conversion
37:39where the
37:39history's
37:40intact
37:40swallow's
37:41nest
37:42and all
37:42joining me
37:47is the
37:47chair of the
37:48judges
37:48David
37:49Kohn
37:50David
37:50how many
37:51projects
37:51from this
37:51category
37:52have you
37:52selected
37:53for the
37:53shortlist
37:53so there
37:54are two
37:55projects
37:55in this
37:55category
37:56first being
37:56London brute
37:57of all the
38:02ones we
38:03saw
38:03probably
38:04it's the
38:05project
38:05that is
38:06most
38:06concerned
38:07with
38:07elegance
38:08it's a
38:08very
38:09refined
38:10calm
38:11experience
38:12to be
38:13there
38:13and
38:14I think
38:15the abiding
38:15memory
38:16one would
38:17have of
38:17the visit
38:18is the
38:18relationship
38:19of these
38:19exquisitely
38:20proportioned
38:21rooms
38:21and
38:22gardens
38:23that's
38:26that's
38:26fantastic
38:27feels
38:28feels all
38:30of that work
38:31has been
38:31worthwhile
38:31thank you
38:32so what's the
38:36second house
38:36that you've
38:37chosen
38:37the second
38:38house
38:38is
38:39house
38:39stead
38:39which is
38:44more than
38:44a house
38:45it's a
38:46stead
38:46it's an
38:46arrangement
38:46of buildings
38:47living
38:48sleeping
38:49service
38:51quarter
38:52take away
38:53any one of the
38:54parts
38:54and it doesn't
38:55work
38:55it needs
38:56it needs
38:56them all
38:56and the
38:57house
38:57is
38:57all of them
38:58together
38:58a lot
38:59of people
38:59won't like
39:00it
39:00a lot
39:00of people
39:01will look
39:01at that
39:01and say
39:01I'm not
39:02going to
39:02live like
39:02that
39:03why should
39:03I walk
39:03in the
39:04rain
39:04just to
39:05go and
39:05put a
39:05log
39:05in the
39:06woodburner
39:06it is an
39:07experimental
39:07project
39:08I think
39:08it's a
39:09project
39:09which takes
39:10a lot
39:11of license
39:11with a lot
39:12of things
39:12and makes
39:13something
39:14utterly
39:14unique
39:15being
39:18shortlisted
39:18is fabulous
39:19really
39:20really pleased
39:21yeah
39:22couldn't be
39:22couldn't be
39:23more pleased
39:23fabulous
39:24it's a great
39:25reward
39:25yeah
39:25thank you
39:26thank you
39:26very much
39:27so
39:29Housestead
39:30and London
39:31Brute
39:31take their
39:32place on
39:32the shortlist
39:33that's it
39:34the shortlist
39:35is complete
39:36and we now
39:37have our
39:38seven finalists
39:39for the
39:392025
39:40Royal Institute
39:41of British
39:41Architects
39:42House of the
39:43Year
39:43in the running
39:45we have
39:46Kirk and
39:46the Craig
39:47on the
39:47Isle of
39:47Harris
39:48and Hastings
39:50House on
39:50the south
39:51coast
39:51there's the
39:53glorious
39:53Triangle
39:54House
39:54the
39:55Agricultural
39:56Janks
39:57Barn
39:57a Mento
39:59and then
40:00Housestead
40:01and London
40:03Brute
40:03the judges
40:05have a very
40:05difficult decision
40:06to make
40:07so I'm walking
40:11up a hill
40:12to visit
40:13this year's
40:14winner of
40:15House of the Year
40:15now I'm hoping
40:16the background
40:17is out of focus
40:19because it's important
40:20that you shouldn't
40:21be able to tell
40:22where I am
40:22no no no
40:23come back here
40:23sorry
40:24not just yet
40:25what I'll say
40:27is
40:28the building's
40:29right in front
40:30of me
40:30and it looks
40:32extraordinary
40:32it is this
40:39incredible home
40:40that takes
40:41the prize
40:41Kirk and the Craig
40:43on the Isle of
40:44Harris in Scotland
40:45built through
40:46sleep and struggle
40:48and storm
40:49by its owners
40:50Ailey and Jack
40:51hi
40:52yeah
40:53nice to meet you
40:53Ailey how are you
40:54good to see you both
40:56who by the way
40:57think I've just
40:58come to visit
40:59their shortlisted
41:00building
41:00nice to show you
41:01in person
41:02and actually be here
41:03well no it's so
41:04important isn't it
41:05to actually make the
41:06effort to go and
41:06visit something
41:07and be there
41:07and experience it
41:08I mean it's made
41:09from that
41:09it's made from
41:10everything around it
41:11so good
41:12it's so good
41:13and by the way
41:13congratulations on
41:15making the shortlist
41:16so deserving
41:17oh sorry
41:17I forgot to say
41:18also congratulations
41:19on winning
41:19thank you
41:20no way
41:20yeah
41:21it's incredible
41:22this is House of the Year
41:232025
41:24wow
41:25oh my god
41:30how about that
41:30that's fantastic
41:31sorry I couldn't
41:32not tell you
41:32I couldn't
41:33not tell you
41:34congratulations
41:36oh my gosh
41:37thanks so much
41:38so good
41:38so good
41:39and so well deserved
41:40oh my gosh
41:41I can't believe it
41:43have you actually
41:45oh my gosh
41:45yes you have
41:46that's why
41:47I've come to see you
41:48thank you
41:49because it's so
41:50clever
41:51well it's built
41:52built from the landscape
41:53and they point out
41:54this rock
41:54and everything
41:55is moving around
41:55it so
41:56yeah
41:57yeah
41:57this house
42:01is crafted
42:01from the very rock
42:03that the island
42:03is made from
42:04this is the local stone
42:07local stone
42:08and it's called
42:09Louisian Nice
42:10from the Isle of Louis
42:12yeah
42:13Louisian Nice
42:14but that's
42:14that's one of the most
42:15ancient stones
42:16on the planet
42:16isn't it
42:17yeah it's incredibly old
42:18and it's the reason
42:19why Harris is still here
42:20because it's made of
42:21the hard rock
42:23it makes your house
42:25a billion years old
42:26yeah exactly
42:27Louisian Nice
42:30tough as anything
42:31and exactly what you want
42:33between you
42:33and a howling
42:34Atlantic storm
42:35that protects the house
42:37they've got this
42:39to protect the occupants
42:40I love this
42:41this is your
42:42fantastic threshold
42:44a glorious
42:45entry
42:46a beautiful porch
42:48very deep
42:49covered
42:49yeah
42:50the shelter's
42:51really important
42:52why is that
42:53it gets a bit
42:56wind
42:57nothing quite prepares
43:01you for the experience
43:02of walking in
43:03this is unexpected
43:08because you approach
43:08the building from the
43:09front and it's like
43:10a pillbox
43:11it's like a very
43:12small
43:13it's like a TARDIS
43:14in stone
43:15yes
43:15then reaches back
43:16you think this is long
43:17and thin
43:17it's not long
43:17and thin at all
43:18I look down there
43:20see the reflection
43:21there's the dining table
43:22which is a lovely thing
43:23because it's circular
43:24and welcoming
43:25and then there's this view
43:26of just the rock
43:28on the hill
43:28and what's clever here
43:29is the
43:30it's like this floor
43:32on the outside
43:33it's simply a continuation
43:34yeah
43:35I think that's one of
43:36the hardest thing
43:36that we find in architecture
43:37is trying to
43:38allow
43:39talk to people
43:41and say
43:41that is a really good view
43:43maybe the best view
43:44of the site
43:44but don't just reveal
43:45that all straight away
43:46you know
43:47layer through it
43:48like you were saying
43:48almost like a story
43:49architecture should be
43:51this revealing
43:52this kind of
43:53staged act
43:54if you like
43:54I think it makes it
43:56quite creative
43:56yeah
43:57and I'm very taken
43:58with it
43:59so what was it
44:02particularly
44:02that won over
44:03the judges
44:04why did you choose
44:06this to be the winner
44:06it was
44:08I would say
44:08really hard
44:09but unanimous
44:10decision
44:11to do a project
44:13like this
44:14in such a remote location
44:15on that budget
44:16required
44:17a partnership
44:18that is really
44:20admirable
44:21and
44:22I don't think
44:23every couple
44:23would survive
44:25doing that kind of
44:27self-build project
44:28what an amazing achievement
44:30against lots of odds
44:31I mean this project
44:32has been ambitious
44:33on so many levels
44:34not only with the
44:35detailing
44:36the way it's actually
44:37made and crafted
44:38but also the couple
44:39and their plan
44:40to build the house
44:40themselves
44:41such a good point
44:43isn't it
44:43often the bigger
44:45and the baggier
44:45something is
44:46the less energy
44:47it has
44:48and you can find
44:49extraordinary energy
44:50in the small
44:51perfectly made thing
44:53it's this quiet
44:59determined
45:00palpable energy
45:01born of hands
45:02that shape stone
45:04of minds
45:04that listen
45:05to the land
45:06that makes this building
45:08the house of the year
45:092025
45:09that building
45:14speaks eloquently
45:15of this entire place
45:17it speaks of people
45:19it speaks of the story
45:20of a handful of them
45:21carrying stone
45:23drying wood
45:24and crafting
45:26with their knuckles
45:27and their fingers
45:27every tiny square inch
45:30of this building
45:31this is the future
45:33isn't it
45:34this points somewhere else
45:36this doesn't say
45:37look at me
45:38I've got a huge
45:40cantilever
45:40this says
45:41I have a role
45:43and an important role
45:44here
45:45in responding
45:46to people
45:47and to place
45:47it's almost as though
45:50this is the building
45:51that this island
45:53and this part of the world
45:55was waiting for
45:55I have a huge
Be the first to comment
Add your comment