AYA 2025 shortlists: One-off Small Project of the Year

Earlier this year BD announced all the architects who made it on to the shortlists for our prestigious annual Architect of the Year Awards.

Now we are shining the spotlight on each category in turn and publishing a selection of the images that impressed the judges.

This year’s judges include: Yẹmí Aládérun, head of development, Meridian Water (Enfield Council); Amr Assaad, director, Buckley Gray Yeoman; Lee Bennet, partner, Sheppard Robson; Sarah Cary, chief development officer, White City at Imperial; Ben Derbyshire, chair, HTA Design LLP; Martyn Evans, creative director, U+I; Dicle Guntas, managing director, HGG London; Gavin Hale-Brown, director, Henley Halebrown; Tanvir Hasan, director emeritus, Donald Insall Associates; Lee Higson, board director, Eric Parry Architects; David Kohn, founder and director, David Kohn Architects; Oliver Lowrie, director and founder, Ackroyd Lowrie; Anna Mansfield, director, Publica; Jo McCafferty, director, Levitt Bernstein; Ian McKnight, director, Hall McKnight; John McRae, director, Orms; Andrew Mellor, partner, PRP; Sadie Morgan, director, dRMM; Setareh Neshati, director of regeneration and development – delivery and operations, Westminster City Council; David Partridge, co-founder, Senze; Manisha Patel, director, kpk Studios; Sarah Robinson, associate director, The King’s Foundation; Simon Saint, principal, Woods Bagot; Philippa Simpson, director for buildings and renewal, Barbican Centre; David Stansfield, senior partner, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios; Amin Taha, director, Groupwork; Magali Thomson, project lead for placemaking, Great Ormond Street Hospital; Ola Uduku, head of school, Liverpool School of Architecture; Tatiana von Preussen, co-founder, vPPR; Richard Wardle, director, Stanton Williams.

Today’s shortlist is for One-off Small Project of the Year.

BanfieldWood – Private House

Faced with unviable construction costs, the design team took on the role of contractor to deliver a cantilevered rear extension for a house in Brighton. The project provides an enlarged dining and kitchen area, with a terrace and steps down to the garden. The extension has a timber-frame structure above the concrete cantilevered slab and is clad in 2,000 handmade tiles, created using old bricks from a previous structure.

Graeme Williamson Architects – Twin House

Located on a tight urban site in East London, Twin House was designed for the architect’s own blended family. The aim was for the home to be both communal and private, with opportunities for closeness and at the same time space to retreat. The ‘upside-down’ arrangement positions bedrooms on the ground and basement levels, with living, working, cooking and dining on the first floor. The house is wrapped in composite cement and wood fibre panels.

Mallett – Black and Stone

The ruins of a ploughman’s cottage have been transformed into a four-bedroom, off-grid home in the remote hills of Aberdeenshire. Working within the footprint of the original stone walls, the architects created new accommodation within a blackened larch-clad volume inserted into the remains of the stone shell. The architect describes the interior as ‘spare and tactile, allowing light, shadow, and material to define the character of the space’. The project was constructed with local trades and materials.

Wellstudio Architecture – Perry Vale House

An Edwardian semi-detached house in south-east London has been revived with the addition of a ground floor extension, creating a warm, modern family space while remaining true to the building’s original Arts & Crafts character. Inspired by the house’s curved bay windows, the architect designed a yellow brick extension with upright and inverted arch windows connected by a horizontal skylight. The internal layout is opened up to give a more fluid arrangement, while avoiding full open-plan.