Architecture

Flint House declared RIBA's 2015 House of the Year

Flint House declared RIBA's 2015 House of the Year
Skene Catling De La Peña's Flint House wins RIBA's prestigious 2015 House of the Year award
Skene Catling De La Peña's Flint House wins RIBA's prestigious 2015 House of the Year award
View 45 Images
Skene Catling De La Peña's Flint House wins RIBA's prestigious 2015 House of the Year award
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Skene Catling De La Peña's Flint House wins RIBA's prestigious 2015 House of the Year award
Flint House was completed earlier this year and serves as accommodation for members of the famous Rothschild banking family and visiting artists
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Flint House was completed earlier this year and serves as accommodation for members of the famous Rothschild banking family and visiting artists
Flint House is built from masonry and clad in local flint which is dark and rough close to the ground, refining in texture and lightening in color as it rises
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Flint House is built from masonry and clad in local flint which is dark and rough close to the ground, refining in texture and lightening in color as it rises
Flint House is split into two buildings, the large main home and an smaller annex, which amount to a combined total floorspace of 580 sq m (6,243 sq ft)
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Flint House is split into two buildings, the large main home and an smaller annex, which amount to a combined total floorspace of 580 sq m (6,243 sq ft)
The interior is mixture of rough stone and smooth pale walls, with a water vein running beneath the home reflected by a black glass ceiling
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The interior is mixture of rough stone and smooth pale walls, with a water vein running beneath the home reflected by a black glass ceiling
You'd be concerned about such a home proving frigid and unlivable, and indeed, Flint House's neutral interior flirts with this fate
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You'd be concerned about such a home proving frigid and unlivable, and indeed, Flint House's neutral interior flirts with this fate
A rug here, an ornament there, and a painting elsewhere help enliven Flint House somewhat
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A rug here, an ornament there, and a painting elsewhere help enliven Flint House somewhat
Impressive and no-doubt expensive: Flint House is a deserving House of the Year winner
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Impressive and no-doubt expensive: Flint House is a deserving House of the Year winner
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Kew House, London by Piercy&Company, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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(The) Mill, Scottish Borders by WT Architecture, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
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Maghera, County Down by Mcgonigle McGrath, a runner-up for RIBA's House of the Year award
View gallery - 45 images

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winner of its prestigious House of the Year award. Formerly known as the Manser Medal, the award shines a light on the best of British housing design.

Rising out of the plowed fields like some kind of ancient sacrificial altar, Skene Catling De La Peña's Flint House was commissioned by Lord Rothschild and completed earlier this year. It is located in the Rothschild family's princely Waddesdon Estate in Buckinghamshire, which also features Waddesdon Manor.

Flint House serves as accommodation for members of the famous banking family and visiting artists. It's split into two buildings: the large main home and a smaller annex, which combine to a total floorspace of 580 sq m (6,243 sq ft).

Both structures are built from masonry and clad in local flint, which is dark and rough nearest the ground, then refines in texture and lightens in color as it rises. The interior features a mixture of stone and smooth pale walls, and a water vein runs beneath the home, reflected by a black glass ceiling.

You'd be concerned about such a home proving frigid and unlivable, and indeed, Flint House's neutral interior flirts with this fate
You'd be concerned about such a home proving frigid and unlivable, and indeed, Flint House's neutral interior flirts with this fate

Given its neutral interior color scheme, you'd imagine such a home proving frigid and unlivable but judging from the photos at least, a rug here, an ornament there, and a painting elsewhere go some way to softening the hard stone and glazing.

"The photographs of the building had a painterly, almost ethereal quality," said RIBA's judges. "Expectations were therefore high when the judges visited the building but remarkably that poetic quality was evident in the flesh. Of all the projects visited it had the strongest narrative, passionately explained by the architect, and evident in the end result. This is a beautiful addition to a beautiful landscape."

Check out the gallery to see more of the stunning Flint House, plus the six runners-up to the award.

Source: RIBA

View gallery - 45 images
2 comments
2 comments
CAVUMark
For some reason modern homes dotting the UK landscape don't make sense.
CharlieSeattle
Butt ugly. It has all the charm of a large doctors office or car dealership.