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00:00...of design brilliance with prolonged periods of architectural showmanship.
00:04There's a strong chance of concrete at ground level,
00:07timber cladding moving eastwards and intermittent glimpses of polished terrazzo.
00:12Light will play a key role, occasionally dappled, frequently dramatic
00:16and sometimes rather boldly emerging from beneath the stairs.
00:21Temperatures are set to rise in kitchens with underfloor heating,
00:24particularly where there's a hidden wine fridge.
00:26Wind resistance may be tested in houses built on stilts
00:30and viewers are advised to take shelter immediately if anyone talks about flow.
00:37Welcome to House of the Year.
00:40The competition is hotting up for the Royal Institute of British Architects' House of the Year
00:46as we welcome the last batch of long-listed homes.
00:51That's clever. Oh, heavens.
00:52The pressure's building and the competition is fiercer than ever for a place on the shortlist.
00:58Oh, this is really, really good.
01:01From houses that were built whilst under attack from midges...
01:05We had to hide in a caravan for an afternoon.
01:08Three grown men hiding in a caravan.
01:11To homes that were built to the strictest of tolerances...
01:14Tim is known as Millimetre Tim in the business round.
01:19The houses we explore will be whittled down to a shortlist of just seven.
01:23I mean, what the heck?
01:26At the end, we'll discover which will be House of the Year 2025.
01:32So get ready.
01:33Grease all nipples and lubricate all joints.
01:36So far, five homes have claimed their place on the shortlist.
02:02Kirk and the Crake on the Isle of Harris.
02:06Hastings House, a triumph of engineering and elegance.
02:10And Triangle House, a house that takes you to the Caribbean.
02:14Then there's a Mento, a carefully crafted cruciform family home.
02:19And Jank's Barn, a barn conversion that keeps its character.
02:25There are two places left on the shortlist and five more buildings to explore.
02:30Snooping around these homes with me is the architect Damien Burrows.
02:37To have a courtyard garden here is quite something.
02:42And the conservation architect, Natasha Huck.
02:46Oh, wow, look at this.
02:47Some houses are born beautiful.
02:52Some acquire beauty.
02:53Others have beauty thrust upon them.
02:56Usually by an architect with a bold vision and a host of power tools.
03:00This category is all about transformation.
03:03And not the kind that involves a new doormat and a pharaoh and bull tester bot.
03:08These are epic, drafty bungalows, weary barns, structures long past their prime.
03:15Reimagined, reconfigured and re-emerged as architectural swans.
03:20They've been wrapped in zinc, filled with light, given poetry, purpose and soul.
03:26Oh, it's so stirring.
03:28I think I'm beginning to feel it'll transform myself.
03:30I might start wearing linen.
03:35Bath is experiencing a transformation of its own.
03:39You come here for Georgian grandeur, creamy stone and the odd bit of Regency cosplay.
03:45You don't come here for bungalows.
03:48But maybe you should.
03:53This is a house of wood shingle.
03:56A bungalow utterly transformed with a new skin of timber.
04:02Thousands of pieces of it.
04:07Hi.
04:08Hi.
04:08Good to meet you.
04:09Hi.
04:09The owners are Celia and Keith.
04:12Excellent place to be living.
04:14It's sort of becolic and befits a wooden house, I suppose.
04:19You've got a little shingle wooden house in the woods.
04:21Yes.
04:21Yeah.
04:22Yeah.
04:23It used to be a 1960s kind of low-energy bungalow.
04:29When you say low energy, that's in really poor...
04:31Poor energy.
04:32Poor, yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:33Yeah.
04:34And then we wanted to kind of upgrade it, retrofit it,
04:38so that we could put in some sustainable heating elements.
04:41Yeah.
04:41And then the shingle came along as a kind of cladding
04:45to cover all the insulation.
04:47But it looks beautiful.
04:48It is beautiful.
04:48It looks beautiful.
04:49Because they're coursed.
04:50Yeah.
04:51They're not, you know, dropping and rising.
04:53So they're coursed.
04:54Yeah.
04:55And, of course, they're overlapped so that the joints are always staggered.
04:59Yeah.
04:59If we did it again on a bungalow, I think it's not the place...
05:02No.
05:03...to do the cedar shingle,
05:04because it's such a vast kind of amount of square metreage.
05:08Yeah.
05:09But it is beautiful, and from a drone shot, it looks great.
05:13When you're working with an architect,
05:16you're quite often taking a sort of godlike view of it.
05:19So you're seeing 3D models, and you're looking,
05:22and you're kind of seeing a building in a way
05:24that you never really truly see.
05:26Yeah, you go round to someone's house and knock on the door,
05:28and they say,
05:29Come in, would you like the tour?
05:30And you...
05:31No, not really.
05:32Actually, no, I've just come to see you.
05:34Yeah.
05:35But when people come here, you should just say,
05:37Would you like to see the roof?
05:38Yeah.
05:38We've got a ladder here.
05:39We've got a ladder, yeah.
05:40Get up there.
05:41It's a hidden asset, isn't it?
05:43A hidden beauty, a hidden gem.
05:44Hidden money pit.
05:46Yeah, OK.
05:46More like an investment, I'd say.
05:55Along the back of the house are the three children's rooms
05:58and parents' bedroom suite,
06:00all connected by a vaulted corridor with skylights
06:04that leads to the new entrance hall.
06:07At the near end of the front half is the glass-walled kitchen diner.
06:11Next to that is a TV room.
06:13And at the far end is the living room with views across the valley.
06:24Inside, this place does not feel like a conventional bungalow,
06:28compartmentalized and closed off.
06:30No, instead, you can see down the length of the building.
06:34It feels connected and open.
06:38It's really neat.
06:40Really neat.
06:40Celia and Keith's architect has pulled off a clever trick, too,
06:45in the way he's divided up the house.
06:48So this entire depth, this is social space.
06:54Yeah.
06:54Yes.
06:54And then all the rooms behind this are all the cellular bedrooms.
06:58Yeah.
07:01The living and sleeping spaces are separated by a corridor
07:05that divides the building into two.
07:07We can kind of close it off so that this space
07:10is completely separate from the rooms at the back.
07:13Yeah.
07:14It's almost like the back part of the house
07:17is what would traditionally be like the upstairs of a building,
07:20and then this front part is like the downstairs.
07:22So we continue that separation,
07:24even though it's all on one level.
07:26Walking through the kitchen and down to the sunken living room,
07:32your perspective suddenly shifts.
07:35Oh, yes, down some steps.
07:38Oh, so the whole thing kind of expands.
07:42It lifts as you walk into it.
07:44Oh, it's like two or three and a half metres or something,
07:48that sheet of glass.
07:48So you step down into a sort of sky observatory, really.
07:53Yeah, which is actually kind of almost exactly split
07:57across the middle,
07:58so the horizon cuts halfway across those windows.
08:02Oh, and these clouds suddenly appear to be more powerful
08:06because you're framing this kind of great skyscape.
08:09What I love about this place
08:13is the variety of experiences that it offers.
08:17No two rooms in here are the same.
08:20From a room which just grabs that huge, expansive landscape
08:23and that view to Wales beyond
08:25to the most intimate private window
08:29that's nestled into the hillside,
08:32and then into this.
08:33Oh, my Lord.
08:35This is the first bungalow I've ever seen
08:37that has a sort of ecclesiastical corridor
08:39with little cellular rooms off.
08:42It's like being in a monastery
08:43with these fantastic clear story lights
08:48that just grab sunshine,
08:53pull it into the building.
08:57I don't know why I'm whispering.
09:01Forgive me, bungalow,
09:03for I have stared,
09:05but beauty like this doesn't come easy.
09:08The process of making it can floor you.
09:13It was a long process.
09:15Yeah.
09:16And getting materials to the side,
09:17I mean, just the logistics of being here.
09:19That was tough.
09:20And I think we had, you know,
09:21quite a few phone calls.
09:22Because a private drive sounds like a nice idea.
09:25Yeah.
09:25Until you kind of realise
09:27that you can't get a big truck or lorry down the drive
09:30and they've left everything on a pallet
09:32half a mile away.
09:34Yeah.
09:35Or just refused to deliver stuff.
09:37So there's a couple of kind of delivery drivers
09:40that we knew they could get in
09:42with one of their kind of grabbers
09:43and drop stuff off.
09:48They've gone to a lot of trouble
09:50reinterpreting this bungalow.
09:52This underrated building form
09:56now reimagined
09:58is once again
10:00taking its place in the spotlight.
10:03I suppose we think of bungalows
10:05as being background buildings,
10:07don't we, you know,
10:07part of the supporting cast
10:09of the theatre of architecture
10:13that makes our cities
10:14and our towns.
10:16But what this place demonstrates
10:18is that you can take an individual
10:20from that supporting cast.
10:23You can believe in them,
10:25remodel them, reclose them.
10:27You can give them a script
10:29that works for them
10:30and you can transform them
10:32into a glamorous,
10:34eloquent, witty
10:36centre stage star.
10:39We've seen one shape-shifting home so far.
10:50Four more to see
10:51before we find out
10:52which will be shortlisted
10:54for the House of the Year 2025.
10:56The next longlister we're visiting
11:10in our Incredible Transformations category
11:12is in Suffolk.
11:14I'm off to see it.
11:17It's an exciting new set of buildings
11:20that transforms not something
11:22that was already there,
11:23but the very way
11:24we could build our homes.
11:28Most homes squeeze
11:29all of their functions
11:31underneath one single roof,
11:33but I'm off to see a home
11:35that transforms that very idea.
11:38Four different buildings,
11:40four separate functions,
11:42and one family.
11:44Welcome to Housestead.
11:54Housestead is four buildings
11:59arranged around a cross-shape
12:01in a central courtyard.
12:03To the south
12:04is a glazed thatch living pavilion
12:06with a kitchen dining area,
12:08a lounge,
12:08and bathroom.
12:10To the west
12:10is a solid brick working block
12:12containing a main bedroom
12:14with en-suite
12:15and office above.
12:16To the east
12:17is the sleeping block
12:18with five children's bedrooms
12:20and a guest bedroom.
12:21There is also
12:23a greenhouse structure
12:24to the front
12:25which acts as a winter garden.
12:27The corrugated metal north building
12:29is the utility block
12:30with a boiler room,
12:32garage,
12:32general store,
12:33and upper-level hangout.
12:36The owners
12:37are architect,
12:38husband,
12:39and wife,
12:39Amir and Abigail.
12:40All of the elements
12:42of the building
12:43are so far apart.
12:44What was the idea behind that?
12:46One's a living function,
12:47one's a sleeping function,
12:49one's utility,
12:50and one's work
12:51and study studio.
12:54It's really to sort of
12:55create four distinct zones
12:56where you have to go outside,
12:58experience the outdoors
12:59between the different functions.
13:01It wouldn't suit everybody,
13:03but I think
13:04if you enjoy being outdoors,
13:05you want a way
13:07of keeping a large family together
13:10as families develop,
13:12I think for us
13:13it's working brilliantly.
13:17As the children grow older,
13:19they can have their own space
13:20and come together
13:21with the adults here.
13:23This is the living block
13:24where the family can eat,
13:26chat,
13:27and socialize.
13:28It's part sitting room,
13:30part kitchen,
13:31part dining space,
13:32with a mezzanine floating above,
13:36all gloriously open plan.
13:39Oh, hello.
13:41This is,
13:42oh my word,
13:43it's stunning.
13:46The thatched roof
13:47seems to float
13:48on improbably thin seal columns.
13:51We wanted everything
13:51to be as light as possible
13:52so it's not detracting
13:54from the view.
13:54Nothing is bigger
13:55than it needs to be,
13:56so it's been finely engineered.
13:59Steel could have felt
14:00like a cold industrial material
14:03to use here,
14:04but it doesn't,
14:05thanks to the clever colour choice,
14:07Suffolk Pink,
14:08a colour used
14:09on buildings in the area.
14:11The Suffolk Pink
14:12came from the fact
14:14that they used pig's blood
14:15to become
14:17the sort of binding material.
14:19In a lime wash,
14:20so you know,
14:20you mix protein and lime
14:22and it reacts
14:23and it creates
14:24the Suffolk Pink,
14:25so this is dragging
14:26Suffolk Pink
14:26into the 21st century.
14:28This is giving you
14:29a bit of oomph.
14:29Exactly, yeah.
14:31And it's the last thing
14:32people expect
14:33when they walk in here.
14:34Yes.
14:35This is a gorgeous pig.
14:35This is a gorgeous pig.
14:40Then, outside
14:41to another extraordinary building
14:43in this 21st century
14:45house stead.
14:47So we've come from
14:48a traditional thatched roof
14:50to lunar space module.
14:53You called it
14:53a lunar module landing
14:55and the way it was constructed
14:57really was very lunar-like.
14:58It was built in the area
15:00where we parked the cars,
15:02assembled,
15:02and then raised by a crane
15:04and very lightly popped
15:06onto the roof,
15:07bolted down.
15:08In one section?
15:09The whole thing was built,
15:10bar the staircase,
15:12in the whole thing was built,
15:13raised up and popped down.
15:14It was great fun
15:15watching it go up.
15:16You have people reporting it,
15:18like there's a spacecraft
15:18landing next door.
15:20It's what's happening.
15:20It was a giant step
15:21for Suffolk.
15:22It's very much a lookout.
15:25It's very much a place
15:25for us to get away
15:27from everything else,
15:28but also our studio.
15:29And it's quite high up.
15:31Not quite 33 steps,
15:32but it's 31 steps.
15:34It's a very nice journey
15:35and you actually feel
15:36that you're just getting
15:37away from everything.
15:37You can go up there
15:38and just escape.
15:39Pick up a book,
15:40finish off a project.
15:42Curiouser and curiouser.
15:44From a space oddity
15:45to a greenhouse built
15:47into a bedroom wing.
15:49Nothing conventional
15:50about that either.
15:53This is a thermal camera
15:55and it's a great way
15:56of showing exactly
15:58where the heat is
15:58in a house.
15:59Now in a normal home,
16:01you'd expect to see
16:02hot spots around the radiators
16:03and chimney flues.
16:05But if we take a look
16:06down here,
16:08wow.
16:09It's off the charts hot.
16:11By design, incredibly.
16:13This glazed corridor
16:15helps heat the hot water
16:16for the whole house.
16:18So we've got
16:19a sort of glazed corridor
16:21that is designed
16:22to get very hot
16:23during the day
16:24and helps provide us
16:25with all our hot water.
16:27So you've got
16:28all this hot air here.
16:30It's rising up through there,
16:32passing over the copper pipes
16:33and just heating up
16:34your hot water.
16:35Heating up the hot water.
16:36Meanwhile, the bedrooms
16:37behind remain
16:38really beautifully cool.
16:40Yeah, the temperature difference.
16:41You can really feel it,
16:42can't you?
16:42Yeah.
16:43You're in a greenhouse.
16:44I am.
16:45Oh, as soon as you come
16:47through here.
16:49It's just really cool.
16:51Just calm.
16:52It's really cool and calm.
16:54The transition between
16:55the cool, the hot
16:56and outside into the fresh
16:58in such a short distance of time,
17:01it's quite something.
17:03That's thanks to the thick
17:04timber walls
17:05between the greenhouse
17:06and the bedrooms
17:07which contain the heat.
17:09Ingenious engineering,
17:11thoughtful design
17:11and a love of innovation
17:13are all things
17:14to be admired
17:15about this house.
17:16Like all good things though,
17:18Amir and Abigail
17:19had to wait for it.
17:21We didn't finish.
17:23We didn't arrive
17:24when it had finished
17:24because we first moved in
17:27when the building had power
17:28but no lighting.
17:30And so we camped.
17:31We camped for quite a long time
17:32and we rigged up lights
17:34and because we wanted
17:35to be here
17:36we moved in
17:37at the very first opportunity.
17:39So it's been very much
17:41an adventure really.
17:43The children have been
17:44very patient.
17:44but now,
17:48now it feels like
17:49it's properly finished.
17:50There's this thing
17:51called Suffolk time
17:52that we didn't know about
17:53but we kind of
17:54managed to work with it
17:55and it's,
17:56I'm sorry,
17:57it's very different
17:58to London time.
18:00Well,
18:01Suffolk time is,
18:02you know,
18:02things happen
18:03when they happen
18:04often.
18:05Not necessarily
18:06that we'd be aware
18:06that they're going to happen
18:07when they happen
18:08but they do happen.
18:10They happen
18:10to a very good standard.
18:14I'll say
18:16this is a family home
18:17for the 21st century
18:19where children
18:20and adults
18:21each have their own space.
18:23Whether it's
18:24the utility block
18:25with its games room above
18:26or the private bedroom wings
18:28where everyone can retreat
18:30when they need to
18:31and then,
18:32when they're ready,
18:34they gather
18:34to cook,
18:35to eat,
18:36to live together.
18:39The watchtower,
18:41the thatched glazed pavilion,
18:43the Nissen hut.
18:46Individually,
18:47these are striking,
18:49odd,
18:50even a little eccentric.
18:51But together,
18:53they form something
18:54that is unique
18:55and compelling.
18:57They form architecture
18:59that is bold,
19:01inventive
19:02and entirely personal.
19:05We've seen
19:06two remarkable
19:08transformations so far.
19:10Three more to go
19:11before we find out
19:11which will be shortlisted
19:13for the House of the Year 2025.
19:24Some things
19:25just seem understated.
19:27A navy blue vauxhall,
19:29a pair of traditional brogues,
19:31Jeff from the parish council.
19:33And then,
19:35then you look closer
19:36and you discover
19:37that Jeff is actually
19:38a belly dancer
19:39and that the brogues
19:40are handmade in Florence
19:41and that the vauxhall
19:43does naught to 60
19:45in Lesson 5.
19:50Think of our next longlister
19:51as Jeff.
19:53It's in the quiet
19:54rolling hills of Somerset.
19:56It used to look like this
19:58before it was knocked down
20:00and was reborn
20:01as this.
20:07Definitely an upgrade.
20:10This is the orchards.
20:14The house is mostly
20:15single story,
20:17stepping down gently
20:18with the landscape.
20:19You enter into
20:20a wide hallway,
20:21the heart of the home,
20:22which leads one way
20:23to the public spaces
20:24and the other
20:24to the private wing.
20:27In the public area,
20:28there's an open plan
20:29kitchen, dining
20:29and living space
20:30which opens onto
20:32a veranda.
20:33A flexible room nearby
20:34serves as a playroom,
20:36gym or guest space.
20:38In the private wing,
20:40there are two
20:40children's bedrooms,
20:42a family bathroom
20:43and a main bedroom suite
20:44at the far end.
20:45There's also a small
20:46upper level guest room.
20:49It's home
20:49to Jonathan and Kirstie.
20:51Hi.
20:52Hi.
20:52Kirstie, right?
20:53Yes.
20:54Hi.
20:54Hi, nice to meet you.
20:55And you too, Jonathan.
20:56Jonathan.
20:58This building
20:59catches you off guard
21:00and that's entirely
21:02the point.
21:03Sometimes buildings
21:04are really loud
21:05and, you know,
21:06they assert themselves
21:07and this one
21:08does the opposite.
21:09Right up until the moment
21:10you sort of get to there.
21:12It's a low-key entrance
21:13and I think that
21:14fits us.
21:15We're sort of
21:16flashy on the inside people.
21:17LAUGHTER
21:18You walk in
21:22to a beautiful
21:23open plan kitchen.
21:24The RIBA judges
21:26admired the
21:27restrained material palette
21:29and touches
21:30of luxury
21:30inside a home
21:31that was respectful
21:32to its rural setting.
21:35It's really nice,
21:36isn't it?
21:37And they've taken
21:38special measures
21:39to keep it that way
21:40to defend it
21:41from the ravages
21:42of children.
21:44What is that
21:45kitchen tabletop
21:45made from?
21:46Is that stainless steel?
21:48Yep.
21:48Yes, it's stainless steel.
21:49Giant piece.
21:50Or five millimetres thick.
21:52How did that materialise?
21:54This was your one...
21:55I think one of our themes
21:57throughout the whole house
21:58was it's got to be robust.
22:00Yeah.
22:00If it looks perfect
22:01on day one
22:01but gets beaten up
22:03by family life
22:04it just won't work for us.
22:05And you've got another one
22:06over there
22:06which is just as reflective
22:07and beautiful
22:08and that's hugely long.
22:09Is that one piece of steel?
22:11It is one giant piece.
22:12One single piece of steel.
22:13I don't think we knew it
22:14when we set out
22:15to make it
22:16but there's only one place
22:17in the country
22:18who could cope
22:18with a piece of steel there.
22:22But this room
22:23isn't just built
22:24to be durable.
22:25It hides a few
22:26playful secrets.
22:28Is that a door
22:29that thing
22:30that great big
22:30piece of wall?
22:31One of our few
22:32kid free spaces.
22:36So the little one
22:37didn't realise
22:38this was an actual room
22:39for what
22:40four or five months
22:40of being here
22:41because we kept
22:42that door closed
22:42and then it blew
22:43her little mind
22:44one day
22:44when her brother
22:45had left it open
22:46and she discovered
22:46this whole extra space.
22:47She is going to grow
22:48up with such a complex
22:50about deprivation
22:51about being the junior
22:52excluded member
22:53of the family.
22:53Or the joy
22:55of what's behind the door.
22:57Or that, yeah.
22:57Or she'll just love
22:58surprises, yeah.
23:01In this house
23:02no room is quite
23:04what you think it is.
23:05One stayed hidden
23:06for months
23:06behind a barely
23:07noticed door
23:08and the corridor
23:10turns out
23:11it's doing far more
23:12than getting you
23:13from A to B.
23:14so this is the
23:16corridor stroke
23:17street
23:18sort of
23:20public highway.
23:21It's almost
23:22become an extra room
23:23it's where
23:23kids come out
23:24the bathroom
23:25we get them dry
23:26dry hair
23:27brush teeth
23:28spend
23:28yeah a lot of time
23:30in this as a space.
23:31You've got
23:32a place
23:33where they can
23:33easily come out
23:34and put on plays
23:35and have a chat
23:36and create a den
23:37and I read somewhere
23:39that every house
23:40should have
23:40at least one space
23:41big enough
23:42to get a toddler
23:42up to full speed.
23:45Those bits in between
23:47the not quite a room
23:48liminal spaces
23:50are what I find
23:51most interesting
23:51about this house.
23:53These are the bits
23:53that quietly
23:54steal the show.
23:56We love to have
23:57labels for rooms
23:58and the moment
23:59it hasn't got a label
24:00the moment it's ambiguous
24:01we worry that it's
24:03wasteful.
24:04It's been a surprise
24:05but yeah we
24:06we really live in those
24:07in between spaces.
24:10The rooms themselves
24:11aren't too shabby either
24:13full of personality
24:15and fun
24:16that was important
24:17to the architect
24:18Graham Bisley.
24:20Each room
24:21has a different character
24:22by what you see outside.
24:24That bathroom
24:25is almost like
24:25a little chapel
24:26you kind of go in
24:26and the timber screen
24:28as you go in
24:28is a cross shape
24:29and you go through
24:30and there's this little
24:31side chapel
24:31which is the shower.
24:32Everyday experience
24:34should be pleasurable
24:35it's not just
24:36a functional thing
24:37walking out of your room
24:38and going for breakfast
24:39or whatever
24:39you can have an experience
24:41on that journey.
24:44This is a house
24:45that is thoughtful
24:46and full of surprise.
24:50It's calm
24:51but never dull.
24:53Every corner
24:54has been considered.
24:56Every detail
24:57earns its place.
24:58and the result
25:02is silently special.
25:04A home that works
25:05and one that keeps
25:07getting better
25:08the longer you spend
25:08time here.
25:10This is a quiet house.
25:14You know
25:14it has its cholera
25:15and its eyes
25:17to the ground
25:17as it slowly
25:19slips its way
25:20through the grasses
25:22in the orchard.
25:23but you know
25:25it may be quiet
25:26but it is also
25:28resilient
25:29and it's playful
25:30and it is strong
25:34and in places
25:35it's also ambiguous.
25:37I mean it works
25:37a magic
25:38and I'm sure
25:39that if I spent
25:39time here
25:40in its company
25:41my blood pressure
25:43would lower
25:44and I would perhaps
25:45be more at peace
25:46with myself
25:47and even perhaps
25:49a little happier
25:50which makes it
25:52a really
25:54transformative building.
26:03Oh!
26:04You know you turn up
26:05at a party
26:05and somebody's
26:07just looking fantastic
26:08and you think
26:09what is it?
26:10Is it their hair?
26:11They've got new glasses?
26:12They've been to the dentist?
26:13What is it?
26:14And then you realise
26:16they sort of just know
26:17what they're doing.
26:18It's just a gentle
26:19all over
26:20even lift.
26:22Yeah.
26:24Like this next place.
26:28I'm in London
26:29looking at our next
26:31long lister.
26:33This is a house
26:34that's been transformed
26:36but rather than
26:37being turned
26:38into something
26:38completely new
26:39it's been redefined
26:41as a sophisticated
26:42version of itself.
26:43this was an unremarkable
26:471960s terraced house
26:49now crafted
26:51into a piece
26:52of iconic looking
26:531960s modernist architecture.
26:56The judges were awestruck
26:58by the fact
26:59it retained the character
27:00of the original building
27:01yet was completely remade.
27:03in this masterfully
27:06reworked home
27:07the ground floor
27:08is a spacious
27:09double height
27:09kitchen dining room
27:10with a utility room
27:12and toilet next to it.
27:15On the first floor
27:16is a living room
27:17with outside balcony
27:18and a cosy snug.
27:20On the second floor
27:22are the two children's bedrooms
27:23and a bathroom.
27:25And on the third floor
27:26is the adult's bedroom
27:27with en suite.
27:33The architect
27:33who realised
27:34this extraordinary vision
27:35was Dingle Price.
27:37Hi, Danielle.
27:38Hi, welcome.
27:39Thanks, how are you?
27:40Well, you?
27:41You arrive
27:42into a small corridor.
27:44Above are stairs
27:45up to a living room
27:46and balcony
27:47bedroom and bathroom.
27:49But the real magic
27:50is at ground floor level.
27:52It's so lush.
27:54The view teasingly
27:56opens out
27:56over the kitchen
27:57and dining room
27:58to an incredible
27:58garden beyond.
28:01What was here before?
28:03There was a kitchen
28:04on the left side
28:05and on the right
28:05there was a dining area
28:07and of course
28:07it was all
28:08at the same level.
28:11It began as a bog-standard
28:131960s house.
28:15Now, Dingle has remade it
28:16in the language
28:17of brutalism,
28:18the cutting edge
28:19of high-end design
28:20in the 60s
28:21when exposed concrete
28:22and bold form
28:23were the height
28:24of architectural fashion.
28:26A lot of the concrete
28:28in the building
28:28is exposing beams
28:30that were already there
28:31but were uncovered
28:32but then we've also
28:33introduced a certain amount
28:34of new concrete.
28:37It's only when you get
28:38to ground level
28:38you can fully appreciate
28:40this extraordinary room.
28:43There's so much drama
28:44to this space.
28:45I mean, the height
28:46of the ceilings
28:47and then this view
28:48out to this lush garden.
28:49I mean, it's really
28:50unexpected.
28:52What did you have to do
28:52to create it?
28:53Well, the key to it
28:54is the excavation.
28:55There was a Victorian building
28:56that stood on this site.
28:58Oh, the building
28:59before the 1960s building?
29:01It just turned out
29:02that the original building
29:03had very, very deep
29:04foundations
29:04and that meant
29:06relatively easily
29:07we could dig away
29:08the earth
29:09to create this high space.
29:10So we've excavated
29:11a metre and a half
29:12down from the original
29:13ground floor level.
29:15But from then on
29:17Dingle had set himself
29:18an incredibly hard task
29:20by choosing to keep
29:21everything exposed.
29:23It's a project
29:23with no paint.
29:25Everything is the
29:26exposed materials
29:27which goes back
29:28to this sort of
29:29original idea
29:30of brutalism.
29:31But because of that
29:32you know,
29:33it's very unforgiving.
29:34If you put a light switch
29:35in the wrong place
29:36you can't just move it
29:38and repaint.
29:40You end up basically
29:41having to replaster
29:42the whole wall.
29:44There was nowhere
29:45to hide mistakes
29:46no layer
29:47that could cover them up.
29:48Not the usual way
29:49of doing things.
29:50The contractor
29:51wasn't convinced
29:52to begin with.
29:54If I'm honest
29:55we actually thought
29:57Dingle was going mad.
29:58Everything was experimental.
30:00It was definitely
30:00a challenge
30:01and it's not the way
30:02we usually do our projects
30:04because you know
30:04it costs a lot more money
30:06to experiment.
30:07I guess the most difficult
30:09for us was
30:10when we stripped
30:12the structure
30:12back to its original
30:14block work
30:15and brick work
30:16we couldn't see the vision.
30:20But who could argue
30:21with the elegance
30:22of the end result?
30:24Though what looks
30:25effortless now
30:26took days of trial
30:27and error
30:27that tested the limits
30:29of everyone involved.
30:30it's the level
30:31of craft, care
30:32and control here
30:33that makes this retrofit
30:35so quietly radical.
30:39Everything about this house
30:41challenges
30:41what we would normally expect
30:43from a 1960s infill
30:45from brutalist materials
30:46and from a retrofit.
30:48Instead of clearing
30:49everything away
30:50the architect
30:50has made subtle adjustments
30:52to what was here
30:53completely transforming
30:54the space
30:55and really making the most
30:56of the character
30:57of the existing house.
31:00We've seen
31:01four houses so far
31:02transformed beautifully
31:04in different ways.
31:05There's one more to go
31:06before we find out
31:07which will make
31:08the shortlist.
31:09And then
31:10from all those
31:10shortlisted homes
31:11we'll discover
31:12which one
31:13will win the title
31:14for the House of the Year
31:152025.
31:16A key part
31:26of the architectural
31:28imagination
31:28is seeing
31:30how something
31:31can be transformed
31:32to look at a building
31:33that's unloved
31:34and unused
31:35and imagine it
31:36as a place
31:36entirely new.
31:38Now this building
31:40built by the architects
31:42Tonkin knew
31:42began life
31:43as a rusty old
31:45water tower
31:46they had the vision
31:47to transform it
31:48to turn
31:49the concrete stem
31:51into a staircase
31:52and the sealed tank
31:53at the top
31:54into this
31:55beautiful living room
31:57with the best seats
31:59in the house.
31:59I mean literally
32:00it is a bold bit
32:02of rethinking
32:03but our next
32:04longlister
32:05they've pulled off
32:07something arguably
32:07even more extreme.
32:12Once upon a time
32:14on the Isle of Wight
32:15in the early 1900s
32:17a humble cowshed
32:19was built
32:20with slurry underfoot
32:23hay overhead
32:25and the occasional swallow
32:27nesting in the rafters.
32:31A hundred years later
32:32it was deserted
32:33derelict
32:34and forgotten
32:35until Joseph
32:38an artist and academic
32:39learned about it.
32:40I saw some photographs
32:42and I was immediately
32:44attracted
32:44so much so
32:46that I told the kids
32:47I'll be back in an hour
32:48I identified where the barn was
32:51got in the car
32:52came here
32:53let myself in
32:55it was open
32:56sort of
32:56and stood in the courtyard
32:59and thought like
32:59this is where I want to live.
33:01and so
33:05the old
33:06buyer
33:06was born
33:07an extraordinary
33:09transformation
33:09one that keeps
33:11much of what was there
33:12before
33:12but gently adds
33:14newer elements.
33:16The space we're in
33:16at the moment
33:17is where I socialize
33:18and where I cook
33:19and where I spend the day
33:20and spend time
33:21with friends.
33:22This is a really
33:23open space
33:24whereas
33:25the other barn
33:26the 19th century barn
33:28has smaller
33:29more intimate spaces
33:31my library
33:33corridors
33:36spaces for sleeping
33:38bathroom
33:41and spaces
33:43that can be used
33:44as studios
33:45so in their nature
33:48they're very very different.
33:50The old buyer
33:52is in fact
33:52not one
33:53but two barns
33:54one built
33:55in the early 1900s
33:56the other
33:57in the 1960s
33:58the newer barn
33:59houses the main living space
34:01a bright open kitchen
34:02a generous dining area
34:04and a calm
34:05stripped back lounge
34:06the older
34:08L-shaped barn
34:09holds the bedrooms
34:10and a couple of quiet
34:11studio spaces
34:12the RIBA judges
34:14admired the contrasts
34:16this project offered
34:17where new and old
34:18materials and structures
34:20sit comfortably
34:21alongside each other
34:22nowhere more so
34:24than in the main
34:25living and working space.
34:28the roof is
34:29the roof is
34:29pretty much
34:29as it was
34:30we reinforced it
34:31visibly mended it
34:33where we had to
34:34there are still
34:36remnants of
34:37what is probably
34:38cow poo
34:39on the wall
34:40there is a swallow's nest
34:41there is hair
34:42there are old nails
34:43so all of this
34:44so all of this is still
34:45in the walls
34:46the construction
34:48approach was deliberately
34:49as rough and ready
34:50as the original building
34:51itself
34:52the doors came from
34:54Spain
34:55I think
34:55which took a long time
34:57one of the doors
34:58didn't quite fit
34:59so I rang the builder
35:01and a few hours later
35:02it was sorted
35:03I think they shaved
35:04a little bit off
35:05the door frame
35:05or the door
35:06or either
35:07I'm not going to ask
35:09one of the greatest
35:12interventions here
35:13is what they've done
35:14to the front
35:15of the building
35:16by day
35:17it brings in
35:18soft light
35:19by night
35:21it glows
35:24the facade
35:26that faces the courtyard
35:27is made from
35:28polycarbonate
35:28so it looks like paper
35:29it lets light in
35:32and brings light
35:33into the space
35:33this insulated facade
35:36cost an eye-watering
35:3817 grand
35:39a unique expense
35:40in what was otherwise
35:41a cost-conscious home
35:42built for 360,000
35:44extraordinary
35:45for a project
35:46of this ambition
35:47the budget was tight
35:50but that led to
35:52most of the decisions
35:54we made about everything
35:55I don't think there's
35:56anything where we thought
35:57we're going to spend
35:58more on this element
35:59so we tested thoroughly
36:01the costs of different
36:02approaches
36:03and that's how
36:04we made decisions
36:05so no I wouldn't say
36:06it was to do with
36:07spending more
36:09on certain elements
36:10the old buyer
36:17is masterful
36:18not a glossy
36:19reinterpretation
36:21of raw rusticity
36:22new materials
36:23and ideas
36:24have here
36:25been finely tuned
36:26to an appropriate
36:27level of humility
36:28with that
36:29comes a gentle
36:30brutal honesty
36:31it's a cow shed
36:33made livable
36:33not just through redesign
36:35but in the refusal
36:36to lie about
36:37what it ever was
36:38why did I keep the swallows nest
36:42what would be
36:43the advantage
36:44of removing it
36:45like I would take away
36:46a story of the building
36:47we've explored five remarkable homes
36:58so far
36:58but which will earn their place
37:00on the coveted shortlist
37:02the house of wood shingle
37:04a 60s bungalow
37:06wrapped head to toe
37:06in timber
37:07part house
37:08part hedgehog
37:09house stead
37:11four buildings
37:12one family home
37:13a place that rewrites
37:15the idea of what a house is
37:16the orchards
37:19barn on the outside
37:20bond lair on the inside
37:22London brute
37:24a concrete wedge
37:25in a polite London postcode
37:27brutalism
37:28with a posh accent
37:29the old buyer
37:31a luminous barn conversion
37:34where the history is intact
37:35swallow's nest and all
37:37joining me is the chair of the judges
37:43David Kohn
37:45David how many projects
37:46from this category
37:47have you selected
37:48for the shortlist
37:48so there are two projects
37:50in this category
37:51first being
37:51London Brutes
37:52of all the ones we saw
37:58probably it's the project
38:00that is most concerned
38:02with elegance
38:03it's a very refined
38:05calm experience
38:07to be there
38:08and I think
38:10the abiding memory
38:11one would have
38:12of the visit
38:13is the relationship
38:14of these exquisitely
38:15proportioned rooms
38:16and gardens
38:18that's
38:21that's fantastic
38:22feels
38:23feels all of that work
38:26has been worthwhile
38:27thank you
38:28so what's the second house
38:31that you've chosen
38:32the second house
38:33is house stead
38:34which is more than a house
38:40it's a stead
38:41it's an arrangement
38:42of buildings
38:42living
38:43sleeping
38:45service
38:46quarter
38:47take away any one
38:49of the parts
38:49and it doesn't work
38:50it needs them all
38:51and the house is
38:52all of them together
38:53a lot of people
38:54won't like it
38:55a lot of people
38:56will look at that
38:56and say
38:56I'm not going to live like that
38:58why should I walk in the rain
38:59just to go and put a log
39:01in the wood burner
39:01it is an experimental project
39:03I think it's a project
39:04which takes
39:05a lot of license
39:06with a lot of things
39:07and makes something
39:09utterly unique
39:10being shortlisted
39:13is fabulous
39:14really really pleased
39:16yeah couldn't be
39:17couldn't be more pleased
39:18fabulous
39:19it's a great reward
39:20thank you
39:21thank you very much
39:22so
39:24house stead
39:25and a London brute
39:26take their place
39:27on the shortlist
39:28that's it
39:29the shortlist is complete
39:31and we now have
39:32our seven finalists
39:34for the 2025
39:35Royal Institute of British Architects
39:37House of the Year
39:38in the running
39:40in the running
39:40we have
39:41Kirk and the Craig
39:42on the Isle of Harris
39:43and Hastings House
39:45on the south coast
39:46there's the glorious
39:48Triangle House
39:49the agricultural
39:51Janks Barn
39:52a Mento
39:54and then
39:55House Stead
39:56and London Brute
39:58the judges
40:00have a very difficult
40:01decision to make
40:02so I'm walking up a hill
40:07to visit
40:08this year's winner
40:10of House of the Year
40:10now
40:11I'm hoping the background
40:12is out of focus
40:14because it's important
40:15that you shouldn't
40:16be able to tell
40:17where I am
40:17no no no
40:18come back here
40:19sorry
40:19not just yet
40:20what I'll say is
40:23the building's
40:24right in front of me
40:25and it looks extraordinary
40:32it is this incredible home
40:35that takes the prize
40:36Kirk and the Craig
40:38on the Isle of Harris
40:40in Scotland
40:40built through sleep
40:42and struggle
40:43and storm
40:44by its owners
40:45Ailey and Jack
40:46hi
40:47yeah
40:48nice to meet you
40:48Ailey how are you
40:49good to see you both
40:51who by the way
40:52think I've just come
40:54to visit their
40:54shortlisted building
40:55it's nice to show you
40:56in person
40:57and actually be here
40:58well no
40:59it's so important
40:59isn't it
41:00to actually make the effort
41:01to go and visit
41:01something
41:02and be there
41:02and experience it
41:03I mean it's made
41:04from that
41:04it's made from
41:05everything around it
41:06so good
41:07it's so good
41:08and by the way
41:08congratulations
41:09on making the shortlist
41:11so deserving
41:12oh sorry
41:12and I forgot to say
41:13also congratulations
41:14on winning
41:14thank you
41:15no way
41:16yeah
41:16incredible
41:17this is house
41:18of the year 2025
41:19wow
41:20oh my god
41:25how about that
41:25that's fantastic
41:26sorry I couldn't
41:27not tell you
41:27I couldn't not tell you
41:29congratulations
41:31oh my gosh
41:32thank you so good
41:33so good
41:34and so well deserved
41:35oh my gosh
41:36I can't believe it
41:38have we actually
41:40oh my gosh
41:40yes you have
41:41that's why
41:42I've come to see you
41:44thank you
41:44because it's so
41:45clever
41:46well it's built
41:47built from the landscape
41:48and like you pointed out
41:49this rock and everything
41:50is moving around it
41:51so
41:51yeah
41:52this house
41:56this house
41:56is crafted
41:57from the very rock
41:58that the island
41:58is made from
41:59this is
42:01the local stone
42:02local stone
42:03and it's called
42:04Louisian Nice
42:05from the Isle of Lewis
42:07yeah
42:08Louisian Nice
42:09but that's
42:09that's one of the most
42:10ancient stones
42:11on the planet
42:11isn't it
42:12yeah it's incredibly old
42:13and it's the reason
42:14why Harris is still here
42:15because it's made of
42:17the hard rock
42:18it makes your house
42:20a billion years old
42:21yeah exactly
42:22Louisian Nice
42:25tough as anything
42:26and exactly what you want
42:28between you
42:28and a howling
42:29Atlantic storm
42:30that protects the house
42:32they've got this
42:34to protect the occupants
42:35I love this
42:36this is your
42:37fantastic threshold
42:39a glorious
42:40entry
42:42a beautiful porch
42:43very deep
42:44covered
42:44yeah
42:45yeah
42:46the shelter's really important
42:47why is that
42:48is there
42:51it gets a bit
42:52a bit
42:52a bit
42:52nothing quite
42:55prepares you
42:56for the experience
42:57of walking in
42:58this is unexpected
43:03because you approach
43:03the building
43:04from the front
43:04and it's like
43:05a pillbox
43:06yeah
43:06it's like
43:06very small
43:08it's like a TARDIS
43:09in stone
43:10yes
43:10then reaches back
43:11you think it's as long
43:12and thin
43:12it's not long
43:12and thin at all
43:13I look down there
43:15see the reflection
43:16yeah
43:16there's the dining table
43:17which is a lovely thing
43:18because it's circular
43:19and welcoming
43:20and then there's this view
43:21of just the rock
43:23on the hill
43:23and what's clever here
43:24is the
43:25it's like this floor
43:27and the outside
43:28it's simply a continuation
43:29yeah
43:30I think that's one of the
43:31hardest thing
43:31that we find in architecture
43:32is trying to
43:33allow
43:34talk to people
43:36and say
43:36that is a really good view
43:38maybe the best view
43:39of the site
43:39but don't just reveal it
43:41all straight away
43:41you know
43:42layer through it
43:43like you were saying
43:44almost like a story
43:44architecture should be
43:46this revealing
43:47this kind of
43:48staged act
43:49if you like
43:49I think it makes it
43:51quite creative
43:51yeah
43:52and I'm very taken with it
43:54so what was it
43:57particularly
43:57that won over the judges
43:59why did you choose
44:01this to be the winner
44:01it was
44:03I would say
44:03really hard
44:04but unanimous
44:05decision
44:06to do a project
44:08like this
44:09in such a remote
44:10location
44:10on that budget
44:11required a partnership
44:13that is really
44:15admirable
44:16and I don't think
44:18every couple
44:18would survive
44:20doing that kind of
44:22self-built project
44:23what an amazing achievement
44:25against lots of odds
44:26I mean this project
44:27has been ambitious
44:28on so many levels
44:29not only with the
44:30detailing
44:31the way it's actually
44:32made and crafted
44:33but also the couple
44:34and their plan
44:35to build the house
44:36themselves
44:37such a good point
44:38isn't it
44:38yeah
44:38often the bigger
44:40and the baggier
44:40something is
44:41the less energy
44:42it has
44:43and that you can
44:44find extraordinary
44:45energy in
44:46the small
44:46perfectly made thing
44:48it's this quiet
44:54determined
44:55palpable energy
44:56born of hands
44:57that shaped stone
44:59of minds
45:00that listen to the land
45:01that makes this building
45:03the house of the year
45:042025
45:04that building
45:09speaks eloquently
45:10of this entire place
45:12it speaks of people
45:14it speaks of the story
45:15of a handful of them
45:16carrying stone
45:18drying wood
45:19and crafting
45:21with their knuckles
45:22and their fingers
45:23every tiny square inch
45:25of this building
45:26this is the future
45:28isn't it
45:29this points somewhere else
45:31this doesn't say
45:32look at me
45:33I've got a huge
45:35cantilever
45:35this says
45:36I have a role
45:38and an important role
45:39here
45:40in responding to people
45:42and to place
45:42it's almost as though
45:45this is the building
45:46that this island
45:48and this part of the world
45:50was waiting for
45:50you
45:53in
45:53so
45:54and
45:56itui
45:57I
46:00I
46:01I
46:02I
46:03I
46:04I
46:05I
46:06I
46:07I
46:07I
46:08I
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