Grand Designs: Clapham's 'exquisitely crafted' concrete and mirror house in running to win RIBA's House of the Year

A special episode of Channel 4's Grand Designs presented by Kevin McCloud will introduce us to the RIBA House of the Year 2016 longlist which includes five London properties

Clapham's Covert House is in the running to win this year's House of the Year award.

Lizzie Rivera30 June 2016

Five London homes are among the 20 architect-designed homes in the running for RIBA's House of the Year award.

Clapham's two-storey house of two interlocked white cubes, designed by architect couple Deborah Saunt and David Hills of DSDHA, is one of them.

Designed for a backland plot of land - an area which is built on or otherwise developed - under restrictive Conservation Area planning conditions, the couple had to 'bury' half the house so it looks like a low-rise home - and to reduce overlooking from neighbouring gardens.

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Comprising an exposed in-situ concrete interior and a mirror façade, Saunt and Hills used their home as a test-bed for ideas on sustainability.

The judges deem it to be "an exquisitely crafted home, with every detail and material carefully thought through; a beautiful space that is immediately calming and exciting."

The RIBA House of the Year award will be broadcast as part of a special Channel 4 Grand Designs series, presented by Kevin McCloud later in the year.