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House Of The Year 2022 revealed on Grand Designs

A judge said the family home was ‘the most debated’ which deserves ‘praise’.
A judge said the family home was ‘the most debated’ which deserves ‘praise’. A judge said the family home was ‘the most debated’ which deserves ‘praise’.

The Red House in Dorset has been named the winner of architecture award House Of The Year 2022.

The new build family home was given the annual award by the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) during the final episode of four-part series Grand Designs House Of The Year on Channel 4.

The award, which was established in 2013, is presented to the best new architect-designed house or extension in the UK.

It beat Mediterranean-style Seabreeze in East Sussex, converted farm barn The Dutch Barn in West Sussex, and industrial aesthetic Surbiton Springs in London to get the architectural prize.

Suffolk Cottage, a revamped former four-room labourer’s cottage, The Library House which mirrors the nearby grade II listed Clapton Library in Hackney and the refurbished end-terrace Mews House in London also made the shortlist.

The RIBA House Of The Year 2022 has been awarded to The Red House by David Kohn Architects in Dorset. (Channel 4 and Will Pryce)
The RIBA House Of The Year 2022 has been awarded to The Red House by David Kohn Architects in Dorset. (Channel 4 and Will Pryce) The staircase in The Red House by David Kohn Architect (Channel 4/Will Pryce/PA)

Riba said the Red House takes inspiration from famous architect couple Alison and Peter Smithson, associated with 20th Century New Brutalism, and the 19th Century Arts And Crafts Movement.

Architect Philip Webb also designed a home called the Red House in London for designer William Morris, who were both part of the 1800s art trend.

Chair of Riba’s jury architect Taro Tsuruta said the Dorset house – which has oversized eaves, patterned red brickwork and bold green details – was “the most debated” which deserves “praise”.

The central feature of the house is a curved staircase which gives a sculpture-like effect.

Tsuruta, who received a Riba award in 2021 for a conservatory development, also said the home is an “aesthetic and sustainable building with future-proof functionality”.

He also said there are influences from top architects with “many surprises throughout”.

The Red House’s anonymous owner said: “It is hard as novices to design a new house in a sensitive rural location, but if we’d built an invisible house or a pastiche design it would have been a cop-out.

“We love the house and its happy eccentricity.”

Their London-based architect, David Kohn, said his team’s “ambition” and “dedication” has been rewarded.

The director of David Kohn Architects added: “The jury have chosen to support architecture that is intimate, playful, colourful and engages both with its context and history. I could not be more delighted.”

He has previously won young architect of the year in 2009 from Building Design magazine and Inside World Interior of the Year in 2013.

Previous winners of the House Of The Year include McGonigle McGrath for House Lessans in 2019 and HaysomWardMiller for Lochside House in 2018.