Homes that use materials in a new way
wold's barn, lincolnshire, riba house of the year

5 homes that showcase materials in a new and beautiful way

Five homes from the RIBA longlist that use materials in a new and beautiful way

By Victoria Purcell |

These five homes all showcase materials used in a new and beautiful way. They all featured on Grand Designs: House of the Year 2021 as they battled it out to win the coveted RIBA award.

Kevin McCloud, architect Damion Burrows and design expert Michelle Ogundehin tour the UK for the new series, and in this episode, airing on Wednesday 24 November at 9pm on Channel 4, they visit homes in Lincolnshire, London, Surrey and the Scottish Highlands.

The houses in this category all showcase ‘materials used in a new and beautiful way’, including a contemporary barn forged from Corten steel, a renovation crafted from Scottish stone and a wood-clad extension in east London.

‘Materials have a greater purpose,’ said Kevin. ‘They can transform the experience of being in a building – the sight, sensations the sounds, even the smells. A great building can be a feast for the senses.’

1. The Slot House, south London

When demand for housing outstrips supply, clever, compact houses on small plots, often called ‘slot’, ‘slither’ or ‘narrow’ houses, become commonplace.  The 2.8-metre-wide Slot House in Peckham, south London, was a disused alleyway for years before architect Sandy Rendell and his wife Sally, a designer and illustrator, developed it into a skinny home.

The site previously had permission for a more elaborate, three-storey scheme. But the pair, who acquired the plot when buying the house next door, opted for quality over quantity. The floor plans are simple with a living area and kitchen arranged either side of the staircase on the ground floor, and one bedroom and a mezzanine study upstairs.

The Slot House – which has an internal area of 64sqm and the footprint of a London tube carriage – is simple, modest and filled with light, showcasing its steel frame, timber beams and thin ply cladding. It demonstrates how, by stripping structural materials back to basics and exposing them as part of the character of the build, you can really maximise your space.

Find out more at architecture.com

the slot house, grand designs house of the year

Photo: Jim Stephenson

2. Wold’s Barn, Lincolnshire

Henry and Jennifer Salmon, owners of Wold’s Barn in Lincolnshire, wanted to build a home for their young family on former farmland on the outskirts of Hatcliffe, a village in North East Lincolnshire.

ID Architecture arranged advance consultations with the planners to help ensure that the 340sqm Paragraph 55 (now Paragraph 80) home got the green light. The first-floor timber-framed structure includes all five bedrooms, with a cantilevered master bedroom, while ground granulated blast-furnace slag concrete retaining walls anchor the ground floor into the hillside.

The site overlooks a Bronze Age barrow mound to the west and is set within the bank, so that it looks like a single-storey house from the east. The mixture of corten, concrete and black metal bedroom pods makes a striking composition that draws admiration from visitors.

Find out more at architecture.com

wold's barn in hatcliffe is a paragraph 80 house as seen on grand designs house of the year

Photo: Andy Haslam

3. Kyle House, Scottish Highlands

From a derelict, dark, almost windowless farmhouse, Groves-Raines Architects has crafted a bolthole with locally sourced Caithness stone walls, a traditional slate roof and a skilfully carved Danish oak interior. The restoration of Kyle House has been done with immaculate attention to detail, resulting in an elegant Scandi-style eco-holiday cottage.

Windows and doors have been thoughtfully detailed to maintain the character of the original Highland house while opening up to the views – the lower level windows are concealed by the natural form of the landscape, while the upper level retains the original openings.

RIBA judges praised the joinery of the handcrafted staircase and doors, which disappear seamlessly into the walls, calling the house a masterclass in attention to detail.

Find out more at architecture.com

kyle house, grand designs house of the year

Photo: Alexander Baxter

These five homes all showcase materials used in a new and beautiful way. They all featured on Grand Designs: House of the Year 2021 as they battled it out to win the coveted RIBA award.

Kevin McCloud, architect Damion Burrows and design expert Michelle Ogundehin tour the UK for the new series, and in this episode, airing on Wednesday 24 November at 9pm on Channel 4, they visit homes in Lincolnshire, London, Surrey and the Scottish Highlands.

The houses in this category all showcase ‘materials used in a new and beautiful way’, including a contemporary barn forged from Corten steel, a renovation crafted from Scottish stone and a wood-clad extension in east London.

‘Materials have a greater purpose,’ said Kevin. ‘They can transform the experience of being in a building – the sight, sensations the sounds, even the smells. A great building can be a feast for the senses.’

1. The Slot House, south London

When demand for housing outstrips supply, clever, compact houses on small plots, often called ‘slot’, ‘slither’ or ‘narrow’ houses, become commonplace.  The 2.8-metre-wide Slot House in Peckham, south London, was a disused alleyway for years before architect Sandy Rendell and his wife Sally, a designer and illustrator, developed it into a skinny home.

The site previously had permission for a more elaborate, three-storey scheme. But the pair, who acquired the plot when buying the house next door, opted for quality over quantity. The floor plans are simple with a living area and kitchen arranged either side of the staircase on the ground floor, and one bedroom and a mezzanine study upstairs.

The Slot House – which has an internal area of 64sqm and the footprint of a London tube carriage – is simple, modest and filled with light, showcasing its steel frame, timber beams and thin ply cladding. It demonstrates how, by stripping structural materials back to basics and exposing them as part of the character of the build, you can really maximise your space.

Find out more at architecture.com

the slot house, grand designs house of the year

Photo: Jim Stephenson

2. Wold’s Barn, Lincolnshire

Henry and Jennifer Salmon, owners of Wold’s Barn in Lincolnshire, wanted to build a home for their young family on former farmland on the outskirts of Hatcliffe, a village in North East Lincolnshire.

ID Architecture arranged advance consultations with the planners to help ensure that the 340sqm Paragraph 55 (now Paragraph 80) home got the green light. The first-floor timber-framed structure includes all five bedrooms, with a cantilevered master bedroom, while ground granulated blast-furnace slag concrete retaining walls anchor the ground floor into the hillside.

The site overlooks a Bronze Age barrow mound to the west and is set within the bank, so that it looks like a single-storey house from the east. The mixture of corten, concrete and black metal bedroom pods makes a striking composition that draws admiration from visitors.

Find out more at architecture.com

wold's barn in hatcliffe is a paragraph 80 house as seen on grand designs house of the year

Photo: Andy Haslam

3. Kyle House, Scottish Highlands

From a derelict, dark, almost windowless farmhouse, Groves-Raines Architects has crafted a bolthole with locally sourced Caithness stone walls, a traditional slate roof and a skilfully carved Danish oak interior. The restoration of Kyle House has been done with immaculate attention to detail, resulting in an elegant Scandi-style eco-holiday cottage.

Windows and doors have been thoughtfully detailed to maintain the character of the original Highland house while opening up to the views – the lower level windows are concealed by the natural form of the landscape, while the upper level retains the original openings.

RIBA judges praised the joinery of the handcrafted staircase and doors, which disappear seamlessly into the walls, calling the house a masterclass in attention to detail.

Find out more at architecture.com

kyle house, grand designs house of the year

Photo: Alexander Baxter

4. House for Theo and Oskar, Surrey Hills

Tigg and Coll Architects were challenged to remodel a small family cottage into a future-proofed home for Theo, 10, and Oskar, eight, who have a rare genetic disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Parents Nick and Clara, who also have four-year-old Lucas, wanted the boys to have a fun space that didn’t feel institutional. Husband and wife architects David Tigg and Rachael Coll came up with a roof that had the feel of a treehouse.

The extension wraps around the side of the cottage to form a new front entrance. The most radical part is to the rear, where the timber ‘diagrid’ roof, cantilevering over the sliding glazed walls, provides the children’s bedrooms with seamless access to the outdoors. The internal circulation has been reconfigured with widened hallways and pocket sliding doors for full access throughout.

Nick launched a fundraising campaign to finance the expensive project, but he couldn’t raise enough funds. Fortunately, his efforts did catch the attention of a friend’s partner, Peter McCall, who works for a large firm of property developers and offered to provide expert personnel for free. He also contacted all his suppliers, asking them to contribute materials, and they all did.

Find out more at architecture.com

theo and oscar's house, grand designs house of the year

Photo: Andy Matthews

5. Grain House, east London

Hayhurst & Co Architects exercised care and imagination in remodelling and extending a Victorian semi-detached home in Hackney, east London for a young family.

Grain House connects the original house to new living spaces with an innovative visual link from the entrance, through the family spaces to the garden beyond, and on to a new artist’s studio at the rear.

A new staircase wraps around a two-storey courtyard at the heart of the house, with a new garden at its centre, flowing light and views through the property. On the lower ground-floor level, the pitched ceiling of the extension helps to define the kitchen-dining area, which has a large window seat looking out over the garden.

The palette of materials includes handmade tiles, natural lime plaster, pre-patinated copper and charred larch. Where possible, the timbers are native, chosen to add a maturing depth of texture and character as they age.

Find out more at architecture.com

grain house, grand designs house of the year

Photo: Kilian O’Sullivan

Which of these five properties will make it onto the RIBA House of the Year shortlist? Tune into Channel 4 to find out…

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