The RIBA House of the Year 2018 winner has been revealed

Lochside House by Haysom Ward Miller Architects has won the UK’s prestigious 2018 RIBA House of the Year awards.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the 20-strong longlist for the awards, sponsored by Forterra, back in June. The shortlist has been revealed each week on Channel 4's Grand Designs: House of the Year, which sees Kevin McCloud, Damion Burrows and Michelle Ogundehin document the detail behind these extraordinary projects – and now, the winner has been crowned!

The RIBA House of the Year is awarded every year to the best new house or house extension designed by an architect in the UK. Those featured this year included a derelict former gin distillery in a hidden corner of east London which has been restored into a contemporary family home; a playful black timber-clad house on the outskirts of Belfast that was built for just £100k; and a farm shed on the edge of a North Yorkshire village converted into a ‘part country cottage, part classical villa’.

Take a look at all of this year's featured homes...

The Jury Report said:

'This highly successful creation by the team of architect-client-builder impressed the judges. The scale, material choices, use of the setting and integration into the landscape were all excellent.

'A sustainable building making good use of wood was a delight to visit. The care in the design and in the building of this house makes it an exemplar of its genre.'

The Jury Report said:

'The Makers house is a new-build one-off house by Liddicoat Goldhill. Initiated by the office as a speculative development, it sits in a terrace of semi-detached villas replacing the previous 1 / 2 storey building.

'Arranged over four levels, the upper two storeys are bedrooms while the ground floor is a split-level living space. At street level is a sitting area while a short flight of steps takes you down to a taller space containing kitchen and dining further opening onto a backyard. There is also a basement ‘den’ space and utility room.

'Throughout the scheme you can see a very high level of inventiveness in the bespoke detailing. These are not in any way the "generic solutions" that you would normally get with a property developer. The architect described the design process as a testing ground for the office and through trial and error they have significantly elevated the experience of this home.'

The Jury Report said:

'For this project, the ideas of convention and compromise do not exist. It has taken more than a decade from inception to completion, it has been a titanic struggle to win permission and get the thing built, but there is no evidence that anything at any scale has ever been downgraded or any difficulty sidestepped.

'And the design, which has taken so much time and effort to realise, is extraordinary in its challenge to convention. The site beside the Thames is spacious and south-facing; the diagram for the building could easily be a simple arrangement of lawns to the river, living spaces facing south, servant spaces on the north, driveway etc etc.'

The Jury Report said:

'A new-build home which is an assertive piece of architecture, justly confident of its place in the street without being disrespectful, and sharing something of the spirit, solidity, and decoration of the Victorian surroundings without veering towards any kind of artificiality.

'The scheme matches the size, scale and character of the surrounding two-storey dwellings, while providing a 137 square metre split-level three-storey contemporary home. The site the architects had to work with was awkward in shape and levels and they had to deal with the challenge of privacy and avoiding overlooking neighbours. Yet they have excelled in dealing with each using the position of the chimney and location.'

The Jury Report said:

'The transformation of this early 20th century house close to the South Devon coastal path is breathtaking in its elegant restraint. Having explored options for complete reconstruction, the retention of much of the original structure, wrapped in an external insulating "duvet" and faced in reclaimed slate, has resulted in a house which feels rooted in place, rich in history, but also in contemporary detail and delight.

'The exterior gives few clues to the extent of the reinvention – an elegant oak framed veranda and the curious ovoids which punctuate the deep lead fascia are the only immediate indications of what lies within.'

The Jury Report said:

'The clients had spent several years looking for a quiet site to build their retirement home, before they found a farm shed located in a wild garden, on the edge of a small village in North Yorkshire.

'Discovering the site with their son Greg, now Associate at Tonkin Lui and Mike Tonkin, they sought to pull the landscape into the building’s form. A long double height gallery maintains the tree-lined approach and a tall library, bounded by mirror-backed shelving evokes the copse of silver birch found of the site. Walking into the library through a sliding door from the living room brought gasps from the Awards Jury. It is the heart of the home and a showpiece for a lifetime’s collection of books. Clever use of light and mirrors gave the impression of an art piece itself. Otherwise it is a modest three-bedroom house, build cost effectively, but with exquisite detailing throughout inside and out.'

The Jury Report said:

'Neighbours of a small site used mainly for fly-tipping suggested to the architects Chance de Silva that it could be transformed into a private house. A corner site on a residential street has now become an experiment in architecture and sound. The music Vexations by Erik Satie, a potentially endless loop of notes, was the starting point for the collaboration between the architects and the sound artist Scanner.

'The resulting curved form reduces the volume of the building from the street and allows it to be pulled forward in front of the building line taking advantage of the views. It celebrates the honesty of exposed materials where you can see the "making" of the components both inside and outside the building.'

The Jury Report said:

'The work at Ouseburn Road sets an exemplar for contemporary living, where resources are shared and optimised to create a template for sustainable accommodation. It responds to needs of people wanting to stay locally but looking to downsize, considers how homes can adapt to an ageing population and how land-use can be optimised in existing residential areas.

'The architects were initially approached by one client looking to take advantage of the long garden area of their existing house to subdivide the site, release capital and create a bespoke house for their retirement. Their neighbour then joined them in the development to create a truly collaborative project.'

The Jury Report said:

'The fusion of careful restoration and reductionist contemporary interventions in this Grade II* listed Regency townhouse has created an elegant family home for its art collector clients. The six storey end of terrace house was built in 1827, and forms part of the Adams Brothers only London square. A succession of 19th and 20th century adaptations had obscured the form and proportion of some of the rooms and created poor quality accommodation at the rear. These have all been removed.

'The proportions and decorative qualities of the principal rooms onto the square have been carefully reinstated and the rooms sparsely furnished in a way that emphasises the beauty of the original and provides a perfect setting for displaying art work, in a home environment.'

The Jury Report said:

'The reordering of and extension to Duncan Cottage has transformed this listed building on the northern slopes of Bath. Rigorous archive research revealed that John Palmer, original Architect of the house, had intended to add a loggia to the east elevation, now delivered as part of this project in an unashamedly contemporary style, which will serve as an exemplar of the successful juxtaposition of old and new.

'The addition makes the house’s evolution legible, whilst echoing the quality of detail and material of the original building and removing historic accretions which had diminished the clarity of the plan, cluttered the rear court and obstructed daylight.'

The Jury Report said:

'The Berkshire House is a pristine and immaculate exemplar of the early 21st century modern house style. With every detail finely honed and every façade carefully composed, the house is a shining example of carefully-considered, painstakingly-crafted architecture.

'Many modern houses aspire to this level of cool modern design, and most fail to make the mark in their composition, their detailing or their construction. This house stands out for the faultless finesse it has achieved at every scale.'

The Jury Report said:

'To experience the best in the craft of architecture one doesn’t have to much look further than Scarpa and Mies, on entry into this refurbishment of a suburban home the metalwork cut meticulously into the front door reminds any architect of both masters. It is an association that the architect of this jewel north west of Hyde Park is more than happy to proclaim and accept.

'Designed around the clients use of the building and the possibilities in plan and section, the resulting three dimensional space moulded from a love of material is evident wherever one pushes, pulls, looks or moves. If serious architecture can be fun; this is the house that proves it. In such a small and unassuming shell the architect has created a flexible home on all levels, with hinged cabinetry and walk through bathrooms, the experience of living in this carved out cave will be delightful.'

The Jury Report said:

'Seen from the street, Black Stone House is an unusual and irregular stacked block where traditional materials, such as lime, sand and ash render, have been hand worked to reveal a slate aggregate, its black flecks giving texture to the abstract façade.

'Inside a complex unfolding of spaces that result in three apartments nestled tightly into this irregular corner plot in North London. Spatially, all three homes have interesting and complex compositions of outdoor/indoor spaces that artfully manage privacy and bring daylight deep into the plan.'

The Jury Report said:

'On the backstreets of the Ormeau Road, No 37 greets the passer by and visitor with some surprise. It sits apart from the brick built community within which it resides and makes a statement: "I’m different." And that is its attraction.

'There is wider recognition that following years of depopulation urban Belfast now needs to increase its density. This project addresses that space between city centre and suburbs, issues around differing family sizes and our evolving accommodation needs over our lifetimes.'

The Jury Report said:

'Heir to an English tradition of grand country homes, this family house reinterprets the genre in a modern idiom. The symmetrical wings of the historic manor house archetype are disassembled as four separate two-storey pavilions that extend into the landscape in pinwheel formation from a central hall. This simple concept draws building and gardens together, enriching the experience of both.

'It also allows each pavilion to accommodate different activities, from home gym and swimming pool in one to living-dining in another. This pattern repeats on the upper floor where bedrooms form clusters for the master suite, children and guests. Generous balconies at this level combine with large openable window walls at ground level to provide outdoor access, further dissolving the boundaries between outside and inside.'

The Jury Report said:

'An unexpected surprise hidden behind a pastiche-style suburban house. It is a complete transformation, with a new rear extension and garden pavilion and extensive internal refurbishment.

'The architects have created a delightful, spacious series of spaces that open up to the garden and significantly enhance the client’s life in the house. The new additions are bold, employing an asymmetrical form, which is a departure from the usual run-of-the-mill, glass box house extensions.'

The Jury Report said:

'Beginning as a modest conversion of an over-developed Victorian terraced house, the project became an ambitious redevelopment of the entire building. By reflecting the client's personal travels and interests, AY Architect Partners have created an unusual and exotic home.

'The process of opening up the building to let in daylight has created a series of light airy spaces linked by a courtyard, staircases and terrace. A 9 metre high, 3-floor void is a spectacular intervention containing a white-steel and mahogany staircase with crafted balustrade, extending from the basement to the second floor in a series of straight flights, curves and bridges.'

The Jury Report said:

'Located in the corner of a nondescript carpark off the backstreets of Whitechapel, the Gin Distillery is a wonderful example of exemplary contemporary architecture patched together with considered heritage reclamation and restoration. A project of palimpsests with the richness of the original Victorian building complimented by the quality of the contemporary interventions.

'Having purchased a derelict former Gin Distillery building abutting other Victorian brewery buildings, the brave architect and braver family proceeded to transform it into their family home located in the most unexpected corner of E1.'

The Jury Report said:

'The house impressed the judges at the shortlisting stage with its crisp, clean lines and thoughtful response to the landscape. It gracefully hovers over the garden stretching out to different parts of the garden and views.

'The architect and client had worked closely together and one of their inspirations was the nearby Sissinghurst Castle Garden where gardens are broken into a series of individual experiences with each room hidden from each other by walls and hedges. This informed the concept and layout of the house with principle spaces within the house located on the four corners each enjoying a different relationship with the surrounding landscape.'

The Jury Report said:

'When the client bought the house it had lain abandoned for decades and was on the verge of complete collapse. Its rescue is testimony to what can only be described as a labour of love by architect and client.

'To the challenges posed by the house’s Grade II listed status and its dilapidation were added to those of its resident wildlife, which included bats, newts, slow worms and badgers, and its location on the edge of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. In the words of the architect the house was “more ecosystem than building”.'