Dorset and East Sussex projects make final cut for 2022 accolade
David Kohn Architects and RX Architects have become the first of seven practices set to be shortlisted for the RIBA House of the Year 2022 award.
The architects’ regional-award winning projects were longlisted for the best-new-home gong in July, along with 18 other contenders.
But last night Kohn’s The Red House, in rural Dorset, and RX’s Seabreeze at Camber Sands, in East Sussex, became the first schemes confirmed to have made it through to the final round of the awards.
The Red House is described by Kohn as “inspired by English houses from the arts and crafts to the Smithsons”.
RIBA judges said the home is “full of references, beautiful details, and consideration for the owners, present and future” in their citation.
“Many of the house signifiers are exaggerated and the bold green eaves, doors and windows give it a unique identity,” they said. “Playful extended eaves, bay windows and graphically laid out brickwork are signifiers of the internal plan and provide an eccentric appearance.”
They added: “Internally, there are many subtle but inventive formal moves around the gables and eaves, which play out where the pitched soffits meet gables and ridges to create curved and rounded junctions to give a baroque quality.”
RX Architects’ Seabreeze was designed as a “unique interpretation of a beach house”, and is capable of withstanding the harsh coastal environment as well as embracing the more enjoyable flipside of English seaside weather.
The property can only be accessed by driving along the beach, and RIBA judges said elements of the building’s simplicity were, in fact, experimental approaches to deal with its location – such as the omission of gutters and window ledges to prevent the build-up of sand.
Their citation added that Seabreeze was externally finished in trowelled microfibre concrete – with an added pink pigment – to create a sealed external envelope for the 178sq m property.
“the pink pigment in the finish softens the visual impact and sets the building off against the dramatic and ever-changing backdrop of the sky and beach – and of course speaks of ice cream and candyfloss,” judges said.
“The festive character continues inside, but here the pleasures of leisure time are taken seriously, with bespoke joinery containing drinks cabinets and kitchen cupboards.
“Excellent detailing and space planning mean that the small size of the building is focused on harmonising the activities inside with the spectacular setting.”
Kohn and RX’s shortlisting was announced as part of Channel 4’s Grand Designs House of the Year 2022 programme. The remaining contenders will be revealed over the coming weeks until the winner is named on December 7.
Alison Brooks Architects won last year’s award for the practice’s House on the Hill project in rural Gloucestershire.
Full longlist: RIBA House of the Year 2022
:: Derwent Valley Villa, Derbyshire, by Blee Halligan
:: House at Lough Beg, Northern Ireland, by McGonigle McGrath
:: Leyton House, London, by McMahon Architecture
:: Mere House, Cambridgeshire, by Mole Architects
:: Mews House Deep Retrofit, London, by Prewett Bizley Architects
:: Mountain View, London, by CAN
:: Norfolk Barn, Norfolk, by 31/44 Architects and Taylor Made Space
:: Ostro Passivhaus, Scotland, by Paper Igloo
:: Peeking house, London, by Fletcher Crane Architects
:: Ravine House, Derbyshire, by Chiles Evans & Care Architects
:: Seabreeze, East Sussex, by RX Architects
:: Suffolk Cottage, Suffolk, by Haysom Ward Miller Architects
:: Surbiton Springs, London, by Surman Weston
:: The Cowshed, Dorset, by Crawshaw Architects
:: The Den, Scotland, by Technique Architecture and Design in collaboration with Stallan-Brand
:: The Dutch Barn, West Sussex, by Sandy Rendel Architects
:: The Garden Studio, Norfolk, by Brisco Loran and James Alder Architects
:: The Library House, London, by Macdonald Wright Architects
:: The Parchment Works, Northamptonshire, by Will Gamble Architects
:: The Red House, Dorset, by David Kohn Architects
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