Homes that solve problems - Grand Designs Magazine
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5 self builds that solve problems

These homes from the House of the Year 2021 longlist all overcome obstacles with innovative ideas

By Victoria Purcell |

These five spectacular projects 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 toured the UK to scope out the most remarkable self-builds. One episode saw them exploring ‘homes that solve problems’, whether that’s building in a remote area, maintaining privacy in an overlooked spot, or tackling a flood plain.

‘Think of them as champion chess players,’ said Kevin, ‘able to overcome obstacles at every turn with brilliant ideas. These buildings have all taken on a challenge and not just risen to it, but transcended it.’

1. The Outfarm, Devon

Once a 19th-century ruin without permission for reuse, this agricultural building in South Hams, Devon, has become a stunning family home. Architectural practice Type updated the former threshing barn and cowshed, while the owners were involved in their home’s construction, buying materials and also organising the site. Type’s strategy, approved by the planners, was to avoid adding intrusive new openings in the envelope of the building. The windows are set back and minimal, and complemented by wide pivot doors. Inside, stone columns provide the base for a new timber floor and the roof is in Douglas fir. The 199sqm home has two bedrooms plus a study/bedroom.

Find out more at architecture.com

inside the devon barn conversion from grand designs house of the year

Photo: Rory Gardiner

2. Simple House, Cambridge

Tucked away behind a garden wall, Simple House in Cambridge integrates into its city setting without compromising the privacy of the new home or its neighbours. The corner infill site was bought by Jenny Ogilvie and Akimichi Inaba and came with consent for a conventional small house. But architecture practice Haysom Ward Miller turned this on its head and, inspired by the courtyards of traditional Japanese townhouses, devised a 85sqm, two-bedroom single-storey home for around £200,000. The result is well insulated, naturally ventilated and bright due, in part, to the round rooflights and high-level windows.

Find out more at architecture.com

simple house, cambridge, from grand designs house of the year 2021

Photo: Richard Fraser

These five spectacular projects 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 toured the UK to scope out the most remarkable self-builds. One episode saw them exploring ‘homes that solve problems’, whether that’s building in a remote area, maintaining privacy in an overlooked spot, or tackling a flood plain.

‘Think of them as champion chess players,’ said Kevin, ‘able to overcome obstacles at every turn with brilliant ideas. These buildings have all taken on a challenge and not just risen to it, but transcended it.’

1. The Outfarm, Devon

Once a 19th-century ruin without permission for reuse, this agricultural building in South Hams, Devon, has become a stunning family home. Architectural practice Type updated the former threshing barn and cowshed, while the owners were involved in their home’s construction, buying materials and also organising the site. Type’s strategy, approved by the planners, was to avoid adding intrusive new openings in the envelope of the building. The windows are set back and minimal, and complemented by wide pivot doors. Inside, stone columns provide the base for a new timber floor and the roof is in Douglas fir. The 199sqm home has two bedrooms plus a study/bedroom.

Find out more at architecture.com

inside the devon barn conversion from grand designs house of the year

Photo: Rory Gardiner

2. Simple House, Cambridge

Tucked away behind a garden wall, Simple House in Cambridge integrates into its city setting without compromising the privacy of the new home or its neighbours. The corner infill site was bought by Jenny Ogilvie and Akimichi Inaba and came with consent for a conventional small house. But architecture practice Haysom Ward Miller turned this on its head and, inspired by the courtyards of traditional Japanese townhouses, devised a 85sqm, two-bedroom single-storey home for around £200,000. The result is well insulated, naturally ventilated and bright due, in part, to the round rooflights and high-level windows.

Find out more at architecture.com

simple house, cambridge, from grand designs house of the year 2021

Photo: Richard Fraser

3. House in Assynt, Scottish Highlands

Heather and Phil had always had a hankering to live in the middle of nowhere, but didn’t know what they wanted, they just wanted something that ‘felt right with the terrain’. Mary Arnold-Forster Architects designed the 100sqm House in Assynt to sit ‘lightly on the landscape’ between two rocky outcrops, resting it on stilts on a barely there concrete strip, so as not to disturb the land. But the remoteness of the site made the build tricky, and an offsite modular build was the only option. House in Assynt was built in 13 sections using Cross Laminated Timber and wood-fibre insulation. It was then transported two sections at a time by a single lorry and erected in just four days in windy, rainy conditions.

Find out more at architecture.com

house in assynt from grand designs house of the year 2021

Photo: David Barbour Photography

4. Hove House, Brighton

This largely single-storey house by Turner Works solves the problem of being overlooked by neighbours on all sides by politely turning its back on them. It wraps itself around a private, landscaped courtyard space that grants access to all the living spaces and master bedroom. Guest and children’s bedrooms are situated in a quieter area of the lower ground floor – each room with access to the lower garden. It’s owned by property developer Paul Templeton and his wife Maria Giron. Initially, the plan was to build it and sell it on, but on seeing the plans, the couple decided it was a keeper. The judges thought this a successful collaboration between the architect and client and a wonderful house for living in – modern, practical and delightful.

Find out more at architecture.com

Hove House from Grand Designs House of the Year

Photo: French + Tye

5. River House, Berkshire

Professor Antony Narula, his wife Charlotte and their three children wanted a new home that would be light and spacious. Architect John Pardey designed a linear 334sqm house split by a courtyard, with living spaces on one side and four bedrooms on the other. Since the plot in Wargrave, Berkshire, floods by up to 1.2m, John designed an elevated steel frame infilled with highly insulated timber stud work. The living space is glazed to the south with a deep overhang to limit solar gain, and a steel staircase leads up to the entrance. 

Find out more at architecture.com

narula house riba 2021 award winner

Photo: James Morris

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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